The cooks collection | To Tickle Your Tastebuds!

Creamy Carrot Soup

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Many people think that for every bowl of smooth creamy soup on the table there's a worn-out cook in the kitchen. Cream soups are so impressive they must be difficult, right?
Wrong. Actually, this family of soup is easy to make in advance, which makes them perfect for entertaining. In fact, because they're mostly pureed, its better to make them in advance. Since creaminess often comes from a simple addition, it's really no big deal, and there is no denying their elegance.

This classic French soup can be varied in several ways and also be produced in completely different fashion. Vegans will obviously want to use some kind of vegetable oil instead of butter. For a completely smooth soup, always be careful pureeing hot soup. Its important to let it cool down a bit before pureeing it in a blender.

For the recipe, you'll need the following ingredients..

3 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, sliced
1 pound (453 gm) (approx. 4 large) carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large starchy potato, peeled and roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
5 cups (approx. 1 liter) vegetable stock or water
2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste (optional)

Directions:

Put the butter or oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat. When the butter melts or the oil is hot, add the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, until the carrots soften a bit. Add the stock or water and cook until the vegetables are very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pan. Or cool the mixture slightly (hot soup is dangerous), pour it into a blender, and puree carefully until smooth, working in batches if necessary. (You may prepare the soup in advance up to this point. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days, and reheat before proceeding.) Adjust the seasoning; if the soup tastes flat, stir in the sugar to play up the carrot flavor.

If you're serving the soup hot, reheat it in the saucepan. If you're serving it cold, refrigerate, covered, for at least 2 hours. Either way, but i definitely prefer this soup hot. You can garnish the soup with few chopped parsley leaves or coriander leaves and serve.

Chocolate Cheesecake Slice

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:00:00 +0000

This is another delicious and wickedly indulgent treat that is best cut into fingers. I decided to bake this cake as soon as i saw this recipe in the book "Fresh Baked" with a lovely picture. This recipe is very quick with very easy to follow instructions and the result is in front of you. Its got a nice chocolate base topped with a lovely satiny cheesecake layer which is again decorated with a lacy melted chocolate. Any favorite chocolate biscuits can be used for the base. I used butter biscuits coated with dark chocolate which went very well with the cheesecake layer.

Use the exact sized baking pan for the recipe mentioned as this effects the thickness of the cheesecake. I also used a weighing machine to weigh the ingredients which gave me the perfect result.

Chocolate Cheesecake Slice
from Fresh Baked

preparation time: 20 minutes
cooking time 50-60 minutes
serves: 12-16

Ingredients:

250 gm (8 oz) Chocolate biscuits (any of your favorite)
100 gm (3 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, melted
50 gm (2 oz) dark chocolate
500 gm (1 lb) cream cheese
150 ml (1/4 pint) sour cream
3 eggs (i used large)
125 gm (4 oz) caster sugar (powdered sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

Put the chocolate biscuits in a food processor and process until smooth, then stir into the melted butter until evenly combined. Lightly oil and line a 18 x 25 cm (7 x 10 inch) cake tin with baking paper, allowing the paper to overhang the edges. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and spread flat. Chill while preparing the topping.

Put the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water) and stir until it has melted. Keep warm. [If the chocolate turns too thick, add few teaspoons of sour cream to slightly liquidity it so that it would be easy to drizzle over the cheesecake layer. I filled this chocolate - sour cream mixture into a small zip lock cover. Made a small hole in the corner and this ended up with a very clean , hazel free drizzle.]

Put the cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in a clean bowl and, using an electric beaters, beat together until smooth. Pour into the tin and drizzle over the melted chocolate, using a skewer to create a swirling pattern over the creamed mixture.

Bake in a preheated oven 150 deg C (300 deg F), Gas Mark 2, FOR 50 - 60 minutes until the mixture is firm, remove from the oven and leave to cool. Chill for 1 hour, then carefully remove the cheesecake from the tin and cut it into fingers.

Enjoy with a cup of hot coffee!

Puran Poli

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:27:00 +0000

Puran poli is one very popular Indian festival sweet dish. Its basically a soft dough filled with a sweet lentil mixture , rolled and fried. Puran poli usually uses jaggery as the sweetner but here i've used sweetened condensed milk which gives a lovely milky sweetness.
I made this dish for the diwali festival, a festival of lights. I also wish all my Indian readers a very happy and safe diwali.

Now for the recipe you'll need..

Ingredients:

200 gms All purpose flour (maida)
3 tbsps fine semolina
1 tbsp rice flour
pinch of turmeric
pinch of salt
200gms (2 cups) raw chana dal
1 tin (400gms) Sweetened condensed milk (milkmaid)

pinch of cardamom powder

Ghee or neutral oil for frying
water for dough

Directions:

For the puran mixture:
Wash and cook chana dal in a pressure cooker with 4 cups of water. Give 4 whistles and let the steam escape before you take off the lid. Let it cool. Drain the water completely.

Grind the chana cal to make a thick paste. Transfer the paste to a non-stick pan. Add the sweetened condensed milk and cardamom powder and cook till the mixture starts leaving the sides of the pan. Keep aside. This is the puran mixture.

To make the dough:
Combine all purpose flour, semolina, rice flour, turmeric, a pinch of salt with enough water to form a soft pliable dough.

Divide the dough into 10 equal parts. Also divide the puran mixture into 10 equal parts.

Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a small disc, stuff each rolled disc with the puran mixture, enclose the stuffing with the dough from all the sides and flatten it lightly with both your palm. Now place this stuffed dough on a lightly floured work surface and roll it again to form a little larger discs. Use as much little extra flour required for rolling. This helps the dough to move easily on the counter.

Preheat a non stick pan or tawa. Place each rolled disc one at a time and fry each side by brushing little ghee or oil on both the sides till golden brown spots are formed on the surface. Follow the same with all the remaining dough and puran stuffing.

Serve hot or warm with a spoonful of ghee on top.

Strawberry Muffins With Cream

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:30:00 +0000

Muffins belongs to the 'quick bread' family as indeed it takes hardly few minutes to prepare and bake and the results are yummy and tasty. Strawberry muffins are the ultimate thing to bake when you have strawberry's left out in the kitchen. These muffins are moist, not too much of sweet and can serve as a great treat for your guests or for yourself. Any berry, be it, blueberry or raspberry can be substituted for strawberry's. These studded berry's with every bite give a lovely tangy taste with the cake like crumble. Hmm.. it tastes yummy!

Now for the recipe.. This recipe is adapted from "1 Mix, 100 Muffins"..(A must have for muffin lovers)

Makes 12 regular sized muffins

Ingredients:

Oil or melted butter to grease the muffin pans or use muffin papers

150 gm Strawberry's (around 6 medium sized), finely chopped
280 gm All purpose Flour
3 tsp Baking Powder
1/8 tsp Salt
120 gm Sugar
2 large Eggs
250 gm Whipping Cream
6 Tbsp Sunflower oil OR 90 gm Butter, melted and cooled
5 drops Vanilla Aroma

To decorate:
125 gms Creme double
12 small strawberry's

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 200 deg C. Position rack in center of oven. Line the muffin pan with paper liners or grease with butter or a vegetable spray. Set aside.

In another large bowl, sieve the flour, baking powder, salt and set aside. Stir in the strawberry's and sugar.

Lightly beat the eggs in another bowl. Add in the whipping cream, sunflower oil and vanilla aroma.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are just combined. Do not over mix the batter or the muffins might turn tough.

Fill each muffin cup about two thirds full of batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins have turned golden brown and spring back with a touch.

Let the muffins stay in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

Whip creme double until stiff with a little confectioners sugar if desired and spread it on the cooled muffins and decorate with the whole or sliced strawberry's.

Refrigerate until u serve. Serve chilled or at room temperature without the cream.

Paneer Jalfrezie (Creamy Cheese with Red Onion and Bell Peppers)

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:30:00 +0000

The word Jalfrezie, a coined term that originated in Indian restaurents catering to the English, has come to mean many things. Some associate it with "chiles-hot," while to others it indicates the inclusion of bell peppers and onions as key ingredient that contribute to the curry's gusto. So this recipe is an old English favorite curry.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
2 tbsps oil
1 large red onion, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 medium-size green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
6 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsps finely chopped fresh ginger
1/2 cup tomato sauce, canned or homemade
1 tbsp Balti Masala
1 tsp salt
2 tbsps finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
8 ounce Paneer, cut into 1-inch cubes

Directions:

Heat the oil in a wok, or a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and ginger, and stir fry until the onion is light brown around the edges, 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the tomato sauce, balti masala, and salt. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until a bit of oil starts to form on the surface and sround the edges, 5 to 8 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup of water and the cilantro. (The water thins the curry to accommodate the cheese.)

Gently fold in the paneer, raise the heat to medium-high, and simmer, uncovered, stirring every so often, until the sauce starts to thicken, 10-12 minutes. Then serve.

Balti Masala (Fennel-Flavored Toasted Spice Blend)

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:29:00 +0000

A Hindi/Urdu word for "bucket" is balti and here it's not a vessel for cooking. This is a coined terminology that originated with an enterprising Pakistani restaurant owner in Birmingham, England, and ended up back in restaurants in India. The food is actually cooked and served in a karhai, not a bucket: a karhai is the Indian version of the wok. Wherever it came from, some of the spices used in this blend are typical in Pakistani cooking. This blend can also be substituted for Kashmiri garam masala for equally satisfying results.

Makes 1/3 cup

Ingredients:

2 tsps fennel seeds
2 tsps coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp whole cloves
1/2 tsp nigella seeds
3 fresh or dried bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks (each 30inches long), broken into small pieces
2 tsp cayenne (ground red pepper) or can substitute red chilli powder
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add all the whole spices (reserving the cayenne and nutmeg), and toast, shaking the skillet every few seconds, until the fennel, coriander, and cumin turn reddish brown, the mustard, cloves and bay leaves appear brittle and crinkly, and the mixture is highly fragrant, 1 to2 minutes. (The nigella will not change color.)

Immediately transfer the nutty smelling spices to a plate to cool. (The longer they sit in the hot skillet, the more likely it is that they will burn, making them bitter and unpalatable.) Once they are cool to the touch, place them in a spice grinder or coffee grinder, and grind until the texture resembles ground black pepper. (If you don't allow the spice to cool, the ground blend will acquire unwanted moisture from the heat making the final blend slightly "Cakey".) The ground blend will be a deep reddish brown and the aroma will be sweet and complex, very different from those of the pre-toasted or post-toasted whole spices. Stir in the cayenne and nutmeg.

Store the mix in a tightly sealed container, away from excess light, heat and humidity, for up to 2 months. (Also refrigerating the blend adversely affects its flavors.)

Cantuccini

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:00:00 +0000

All Italian cookies are called biscotti, but these are what we think of as classic biscotti. Twice baked cookies, they are first baked in a log shape, then sliced and baked again until they are very dry and crunchy. (Because they contain no butter or other fat, except that contained in the eggs, they can bake to a formidable state of crunchiness.) The techniques used to make can't-stop-eating-them biscotti are, like the cookies themselves, classic.

This post also goes to Meeta's Monthly Mingle : High Tea Treats

Recipe from Nick Malgiri. Adapted from the book "Baking with Julia".

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups unblanched whole almonds
3 large eggs
2 tsps pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 deg F(180 deg C). Line a baking sheet with parchment and keep aside.

Put the sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl and stir with a rubber spatula to mix. Stir in the almonds.

Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a small bowl, then stir them into the flour mixture. The dough may seem dry at this point but it will come together as it is kneaded.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead, folding it over onto itself until it is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into 12-inch-long log. Gently press down on the logs to flatten them until they are about 2 inches wide and 1 inch high. Transfer them to the prepared pan.

First baking
Bake the logs for about 30 minutes, or until they are slightly risen and firm to touch. Slide the logs, parchment paper and all, off the baking sheet and onto a cooling rack. The logs must be completely cool before you continue with the recipe. Since they will take about 30 minutes to cool, you can either turn the oven off or leave it on for the next step. You can bake the biscotti up to this point several days ahead. Wrap the logs well in plastic and continue when its convenient.

Second baking
When the logs have cooled completely, preheat the oven to 350 deg F(180 deg C), if necessary. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Working with a sharp serrated knife, cut the cooked logs diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place the sliced cookies cut side down on the pans and bake for 10 -15 minutes, or until the biscotti are crisp and golden. Cool on the pans.

Storing
These biscotti will keep for up to a month in an airtight tin or plastic container.

Homemade Puff Pastry and Vol-au-Vent

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Daring Bakers September 2009 Challenge

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.

Vol-au-vent filled with pastry cream and topped with sweet whipped cream and sweet cherry. Hmm.. Yummy!!

Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough

From: Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan
Yield: 2-1/2 pounds dough

Puff pastry is a quintessential laminated dough. A simple dough is wrapped around a block of butter, then rolled, folded and turned six times, so that when the final dough is baked, it puffs mightily and forms almost one thousand seemingly laminated layers. Puff pastry is called mille feuilles, or "a thousand leaves" in French, but thats an exaggeration. In fact, there are only 944 layers of pastry, seperated by 963 layers of butter, but no matter. This is still the queen of all pastries, the one that, once mastered, entitles you to whatever bragging rights you wish to claim.

Steph’s note:

-This recipe makes more than you will need for the quantity of vols-au-vent stated above. While I encourage you to make the full recipe of puff pastry, as extra dough freezes well, you can halve it successfully if you’d rather not have much leftover.

-Chill early and often - keep the pastry cold and you'll keep the layers.

-Be neat - fold the dough evenly.

-Stay away from the ends - Don't roll over the ends of the pastry or you'll glue the layers together.

-Take your time - don't skimp on the number of turns or the chilling periods.

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups (12.2 oz/ 354 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups (5.0 oz/ 142 g) cake flour (i used 1 cup APF + 1/4 cup cornstarch)
1 tbsp. salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)
1-1/4 cups (10 fl oz/ 300 ml) ice water
1 pound (4 sticks/ 16 oz/ 454 g) very cold unsalted butter

plus extra flour for dusting work surface

Extracted From the book "Baking With Julia".

Mixing the Dough:

Check the capacity of your food processor before you start. If it cannot hold the full quantity of ingredients, make the dough into two batches and combine them.

Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers. (Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh.)

Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that's about 1" thick. Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.

Incorporating the Butter:

Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour (A cool piece of marble is the ideal surface for puff pastry) with your rolling pin (preferably a French rolling pin without handles), press on the dough to flatten it and then roll it into a 10" square. Keep the top and bottom of the dough well floured to prevent sticking and lift the dough and move it around frequently. Starting from the center of the square, roll out over each corner to create a thick center pad with "ears," or flaps.

Place the cold butter in the middle of the dough and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely. (If you have to stretch the dough, stretch it from all over; don't just pull the ends) you should now have a package that is 8" square.

To make great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times. There are specified times for chilling the dough, but if your room is warm, or you work slowly, or you find that for no particular reason the butter starts to ooze out of the pastry, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it . You can stop at any point in the process and continue at your convenience or when the dough is properly chilled.

Making the Turns:

Gently but firmly press the rolling pin against the top and bottom edges of the square (this will help keep it square). Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24" (don't worry about the width of the rectangle: if you get the 24", everything else will work itself out.) With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich (use your arm-strength!).

With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a business letter, brushing off the excess flour. You have completed one turn.

Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough to a length of 24" and then folding it in thirds. This is the second turn.

Chilling the Dough:

If the dough is still cool and no butter is oozing out, you can give the dough another two turns now. If the condition of the dough is iffy, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Each time you refrigerate the dough, mark the number of turns you've completed by indenting the dough with your fingertips. It is best to refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns.

The total number of turns needed is six. If you prefer, you can give the dough just four turns now, chill it overnight, and do the last two turns the next day. Puff pastry is extremely flexible in this regard. However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it.

Note on Freezing Puff Pastry

Although puff pastry can be chilled or frozen at any stage, it is really most convenient to give the puff pastry a full six turns, roll it out into a flat sheet, chill it on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and then, when it is cold, wrap it for the freezer. Rolling the dough into a sheet means it will defrost quickly and won't have to be rolled much before you cut and bake it. Thaw the dough, still wrapped, in the refrigerator.

Steph’s extra tips:

-While this is not included in the original recipe we are using (and I did not do this in my own trials), many puff pastry recipes use a teaspoon or two of white vinegar or lemon juice, added to the ice water, in the détrempe dough. This adds acidity, which relaxes the gluten in the dough by breaking down the proteins, making rolling easier. You are welcome to try this if you wish.

-Keep things cool by using the refrigerator as your friend! If you see any butter starting to leak through the dough during the turning process, rub a little flour on the exposed dough and chill straight away. Although you should certainly chill the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns, if you feel the dough getting to soft or hard to work with at any point, pop in the fridge for a rest.

-Not to sound contradictory, but if you chill your paton longer than the recommended time between turns, the butter can firm up too much. If this seems to be the case, I advise letting it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to give it a chance to soften before proceeding to roll. You don't want the hard butter to separate into chuncks or break through the dough...you want it to roll evenly, in a continuous layer.

-Roll the puff pastry gently but firmly, and don’t roll your pin over the edges, which will prevent them from rising properly. Don't roll your puff thinner than about about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick, or you will not get the rise you are looking for.

-Try to keep “neat” edges and corners during the rolling and turning process, so the layers are properly aligned. Give the edges of the paton a scooch with your rolling pin or a bench scraper to keep straight edges and 90-degree corners.

-Brush off excess flour before turning dough and after rolling.

-Make clean cuts. Don’t drag your knife through the puff or twist your cutters too much, which can inhibit rise.

-When egg washing puff pastry, try not to let extra egg wash drip down the cut edges, which can also inhibit rise.

-Extra puff pastry dough freezes beautifully. It’s best to roll it into a sheet about 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick (similar to store-bought puff) and freeze firm on a lined baking sheet. Then you can easily wrap the sheet in plastic, then foil (and if you have a sealable plastic bag big enough, place the wrapped dough inside) and return to the freezer for up to a few months. Defrost in the refrigerator when ready to use.

-You can also freeze well-wrapped, unbaked cut and shaped puff pastry (i.e., unbaked vols-au-vent shells). Bake from frozen, without thawing first.

-Homemade puff pastry is precious stuff, so save any clean scraps. Stack or overlap them, rather than balling them up, to help keep the integrity of the layers. Then give them a singe “turn” and gently re-roll. Scrap puff can be used for applications where a super-high rise is not necessary (such as palmiers, cheese straws, napoleons, or even the bottom bases for your vols-au-vent)

Forming and Baking the Vols-au-Vent

Yield: 1/3 of the puff pastry recipe below will yield about 8-10 1.5” vols-au-vent or 4 4” vols-au-vent

-egg wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with a small amount of water)
-your filling of choice

Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

Using a knife or metal bench scraper, divided your chilled puff pastry dough into three equal pieces. Work with one piece of the dough, and leave the rest wrapped and chilled. (If you are looking to make more vols-au-vent than the yield stated above, you can roll and cut the remaining two pieces of dough as well…if not, then leave refrigerated for the time being or prepare it for longer-term freezer storage. See the “Tips” section below for more storage info.)

On a lightly floured surface, roll the piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick. Transfer it to the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the cutting.

(This assumes you will be using round cutters, but if you do not have them, it is possible to cut square vols-au-vents using a sharp chef’s knife.) For smaller, hors d'oeuvre sized vols-au-vent, use a 1.5” round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles. For larger sized vols-au-vent, fit for a main course or dessert, use a 4” cutter to cut out about 4 circles. Make clean, sharp cuts and try not to twist your cutters back and forth or drag your knife through the dough. Half of these rounds will be for the bases, and the other half will be for the sides. (Save any scrap by stacking—not wadding up—the pieces…they can be re-rolled and used if you need extra dough. If you do need to re-roll scrap to get enough disks, be sure to use any rounds cut from it for the bases, not the ring-shaped sides.)

Using a ¾-inch cutter for small vols-au-vent, or a 2- to 2.5-inch round cutter for large, cut centers from half of the rounds to make rings. These rings will become the sides of the vols-au-vent, while the solid disks will be the bottoms. You can either save the center cut-outs to bake off as little “caps” for you vols-au-vent, or put them in the scrap pile.

Dock the solid bottom rounds with a fork (prick them lightly, making sure not to go all the way through the pastry) and lightly brush them with egg wash. Place the rings directly on top of the bottom rounds and very lightly press them to adhere. Brush the top rings lightly with egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides (which may inhibit rise). If you are using the little “caps,” dock and egg wash them as well.

Refrigerate the assembled vols-au-vent on the lined baking sheet while you pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). (You could also cover and refrigerate them for a few hours at this point.)

Once the oven is heated, remove the sheet from the refrigerator and place a silicon baking mat (preferred because of its weight) or another sheet of parchment over top of the shells. This will help them rise evenly. Bake the shells until they have risen and begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on their size. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC), and remove the silicon mat or parchment sheet from the top of the vols-au-vent. If the centers have risen up inside the vols-au-vent, you can gently press them down. Continue baking (with no sheet on top) until the layers are golden, about 15-20 minutes more. (If you are baking the center “caps” they will likely be finished well ahead of the shells, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the oven when browned.)

Remove to a rack to cool. Cool to room temperature for cold fillings or to warm for hot fillings.

Fill and serve.

*For additional rise on the larger-sized vols-au-vents, you can stack one or two additional ring layers on top of each other (using egg wash to "glue"). This will give higher sides to larger vols-au-vents, but is not advisable for the smaller ones, whose bases may not be large enough to support the extra weight.

*Although they are at their best filled and eaten soon after baking, baked vols-au-vent shells can be stored airtight for a day.

*Shaped, unbaked vols-au-vent can be wrapped and frozen for up to a month (bake from frozen, egg-washing them first).

Pastry Cream

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 06:59:00 +0000

Pastry cream is also known as Crème Pâtissière, pastry cream is a thickened custard used to fill sweet pastry cases and choux buns.

Source: Fresh Baked

Makes 350ml

Ingredients:
300ml milk
1 vanilla pod, split
3 egg yolks
50 gm caster sugar
2 tbsps cornflour
2 tbsps plain flour
15 gm unsalted butter

Method:
Put the milk in a saucepan and scrap in the seeds from the vanilla pod. Bring the milk slowly to the boil and remove from the heat.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, and sugar and then whisk in the cornflour and flour until the mixture is smooth.

Whisk in the hot milk and then return the mixture to the pan. Heat gently, stirring constantly until the mixture just starts to boil. Simmer for 1 minute, remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. Cover the surface with clingfilm and set aside to cool completely. Use as required.

Note:
It is really important to stir the mixture constantly as it cooks so that it thickens but doesn't become lumpy. If this does happen, put the pastry cream in a food processor and process until it is smooth. Always cover the surface of the cream with clingfilm as it cools to prevent a skin forming.

Creamy Apple Pumpkin Soup

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:00:00 +0000

This is one of the wonderful soup I've ever tasted. It is mild, nutritious and has the perfect blend of flavors. The addition of apple gives a nice sweetness. And the texture is so soft and creamy. This is perfect before any meal.

Source: Myrecipes

Ingredients:
2 tsps Butter or Margarine or any unflavored oil
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 tsp dried rubbed sage
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 tbsps all-purpose flour
500 ml vegetable stock or water
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp salt
3 cups deseeded, peeled & cubed fresh pumpkin (1 pound)
1 cup sweet cooking apple, chopped
1/4 cup milk

Preparation:
Melt butter in a big vessel over medium heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add sage, curry powder, and nutmeg; cook 30 seconds. Stir in flour; cook 30 seconds. Add broth, tomato paste, and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in pumpkin and apple; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until pumpkin is tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

Place mixture in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Return mixture to to the vessel; add milk. Cook until thoroughly heated. Garnish with sage sprigs, if desired.

Bharlele Masala Bhindi (Cashew and Coriander Stuffed Okra)

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:00:00 +0000

This one has to be the best Okra recipe i have ever had. I used to avoid using this vegetable as i could not get rid of the sticky thing in it while cooking. But then i found this recipe in the book 660 curries written by Raghavan Iyer. I got this book as a gift from my hubby on my birthday and i've never looked back. I've been trying out all the recipes one by one and not one recipe has disappointed me. So look forward for more curry recipes from this book on this blog. The curries are finger licking and i'm glad i'm able to cook such wonderful curries for my family. I recommend all the Indian curries lovers to buy this book.
This curry Bharlele masala bhindi has got the perfect blend of spices and goes wonderfully with Indian flat breads as its little dry. Its got a little more amount of oil but this is what gives the curry a wonderful texture. But you can try reducing the amount of oil a little bit. The red onions give a lovely sweetness and the tomato which is added at the end of the process gives a tiny tang to the curry. So here goes the recipe..

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 pound (454 gms) Fresh Okra, rinsed and thoroughly dried
1/2 cup raw (unroasted) Cashew nuts , ground (powdered)
2 tsps Degi mirch red chilli powder
2 tsps coriander powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 cup canola oil (or vegetable/ sunflower will do)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 small red onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced
12-15 curry leaves
1 large tomato, cut into 1-inch cubes

Directions:
Trim the caps off the Okra without cutting into the pods. Then form a small cavity in each okra by cutting a slit down three quarters of the length, making the slit about 1/4 inch deep. Be careful not to cut all the way through the pod. This cavity will hold the stuffing.

Combine the cashews, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt in a small bowl, and mix well.

Using your fingers, stuff each okra pod with approximately 1/2 teaspoon of this spice blend. (You can safely stuff the okra a day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.) There shouldn't be any blend left over, but if there is, either sprinkle it over the stuffed okra or save it, stored in a jar or a self-seal plastic bag, on a cool pantry shelf for future use; it will keep for up to 2 months.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds, cover the skillet, and cook until the seeds have stopped popping (not unlike popcorn), about 30 seconds. Stir in the onion, and add the okra along with the curry leaves. Lower the heat to medium, and roast the mixture, uncovered, occasionally stirring gently, until the onion softens and the now olive-green okra is partially tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in the tomato, cover the skillet, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the okra is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Then serve.

Tips:

* To grind the cashews powder-fine, use a spice grinder or a blender. If some kernels refuse to pulverize, empty some of the ground nuts into a bowl, freeing up space for the blades to do their thing.

* When you rely on the juiciness of a tomato to provide essential moisture to a curry, it had better be perfectly ripe, bursting with sweet succulence- none of those waxy, pale pink specimens that remain firm even after squatting on the kitchen counter for days. If you cant find that just-right tomato, use 1 can(14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, juice and all, instead.

Fresh Rhubarb Upside-down Baby Cakes

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Here's a tender, soft-crumbled butter cake, a classic of the genre, made as individual upside-down cakes. The baby cake pans, each four inches across, are lined with a mixture of melted butter, brown sugar, and pecans and decorated with slices of Rhubarb before the bourbon-boosted butter cake batter is poured in. In fact, there's nothing sacred about Rhubarb; you can vary the fruit as you choose. Try using mangoes, apples or pears, apricots, plums, or bananas, and vary the liqueur or flavoring to match the fruit.

If the urge to bake these lovely cakes strikes and you haven't a set of baby cake pans at hand, make these in muffin tins or custard cups, or make the recipe as one large cake. The batter is perfect for an eleven- or twelve-inch cast iron skillet or a twelve-inch round cake pan, and turned out, the large cake is impressive.

These baby cakes, as well as the Hazelnut baby loaves, Vanilla pound cake, are members of the same large and universally appealing family, the butter cake clan.

Recipe adapted from "Baking With Julia"

You'll be needing the following ingredients..

1 2/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup creme fraiche, homemade or store bought, or sour cream
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup(lightly packed) brown sugar
1 tbsp bourbon
2 tbsps chopped pecans
6 to 7 stalks (12 ounces) fresh Rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick-slices
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Melted butter for greasing the pans
Lightly sweetened whipped cream, for serving(optional)

Here we start..

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 35o deg F. Brush the insides of 8-mini or baby cake pans, each 4 inches across and 1 inch deep, with a light coating of melted butter, dust the flour and tap out the excess. Whisk or stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together just to blend;reserve. In a separate bowl, stir the vanilla into the creme fraiche and set aside until needed.
Melt the 1/2 stick butter in a heavy skillet. Add the brown sugar and bourbon and cook over medium heat, stirring with wooden spoon until the sugar melts. Stir in the pecans to coat with the caramel and turn of the heat. Divide the caramel evenly among the pans, working quickly to get it to the edges of the pan before it sets( cooked sugar cools rapidly). Arrange the rhubarb in circles over the sugar, and set aside while you make the batter.
Put the remaining stick of butter and the granulated sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or use a hand-held mixer, and beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is smooth and creamy, scrapping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. The butter and sugar must be beaten until they're light, fluffy, and pale, so don't rush it- the process can take 3 to 4 minutes with a heavy duty mixer and 6 to 8 minutes with a hand-held mixer. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Working with a rubber spatula, carefully fold in the dry ingredients and the creme fraiche alternately- 3 additions of dry ingredients, 2 of the creme fraiche. You'll end up with a thick batter.

Baking the cakes Spoon the batter over the rhubarb and smooth the tops by rotating the pans while you run the rubber spatula over the batter. Put the pans on a jelly role pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean. (Test couple of cakes to be certain.) As soon as the cakes are removed from the oven, turn them out of their pans on to a rack.

Serve with whipped cream if desired.

Storage The cakes can be kept wrapped in plastic at room temperature overnight.

Paneer Pakora (Indian cheese fritters)

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Pakoras can be made from nearly any vegetable be it, spinach, onions, cauliflowder, potatoes and even chillies by dipping them in a seasoned batter of besan (chickpea flour) and then deep-frying.

Pakoras taste best when eaten piping hot. Paneer makes great pakodas that melt in your mouth. Chutney is the perfect accompaniment to this wonderful snack that is sure to leave you, your family and guests licking their finger tips.

Serves 4

Ingredients required:

To be mixed into a filling
1/2 tsp carom seeds(ajwain), dry roasted and lightly crushed
1/4 cup grated onion, squeezed
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp crushed and chopped garlic
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp coriander (dhania) powder
1 tbsp dry mango powder(amchur)
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste

For the batter
1 cup bengal gram flour(besan)
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 pinches asafoetida (hing)
1 tbsp hot oil
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves(dhania)
A pinch soda bi-carb
Salt to taste

Other ingredients
2 cups paneer (cottage cheese), cut into 1" cubes
2 tbsp chaat masala

Oil for deep-frying
Tamarind chutney or Tomato ketchup to serve

Method
1) For the batter : Mix all the ingredients together with a little water to make a thick batter. Keep aside.

2) How to proceed: Slit the paneer cubes, with the help of a knife, a little more than halfway, but not till the end.

Sprinkle some chaat masala in between the slit portion of the paneer cubes

Stuff a little filling into each paneer cube with the help of a knife and press well.

Heat the oil in a kadhai, dip each paneer cube in the batter and deep-fry on a slow flame till golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.

Sprinkle with chaat masala and serve hot with chutney of your choice or with one of my hot and sweet or sweet and sour dip.

Daring Bakers Dobos Torte

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:45:00 +0000

Daring Bakers August 2009 Challenge

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

The Dobos Torta is a five-layer sponge cake, filled with a rich chocolate buttercream and topped with thin wedges of caramel. (You may come across recipes which have anywhere between six and 12 layers of cake; there are numerous family variations!) It was invented in 1885 by József C. Dobos, a Hungarian baker, and it rapidly became famous throughout Europe for both its extraordinary taste and its keeping properties. The recipe was a secret until Dobos retired in 1906 and gave the recipe to the Budapest Confectioners' and Gingerbread Makers' Chamber of Industry, providing that every member of the chamber can use it freely.
As i cook and bake only for two,i reduced the recipe by half and was able to get 2 4" diameter round cake, perfect for me. The cake turned out delicious especially when served chilled. Also i suggest not to add lemon juice to the caramel as it turns out bitter. Overall, a wonderful challenge.

Equipments required..

2 baking sheets
9” (23cm) springform tin and 8” cake tin, for templates
mixing bowls (1 medium, 1 large)
a sieve
a double boiler (a large saucepan plus a large heat-proof mixing bowl which fits snugly over the top of the pan)
a small saucepan
a whisk (you could use a balloon whisk for the entire cake, but an electric hand whisk or stand mixer will make life much easier)
metal offset spatula
sharp knife
a 7 1/2” cardboard cake round, or just build cake on the base of a sprinfrom tin.
piping bag and tip, optional

Preparation time:

Sponge layers 20 mins prep, 40 mins cooking total if baking each layer individually.
Buttercream: 20 mins cooking. Cooling time for buttercream: about 1 hour plus 10 minutes after this to beat and divide.
Caramel layer: 10-15 minutes.
Assembly of whole cake: 20 minutes

Ingredients for Sponge cake layers:

6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups (162g) confectioner's (icing) sugar, divided
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour (SUBSTITUTE 95g plain flour + 17g cornflour (cornstarch) sifted together)
pinch of salt

Directions for the sponge layers:

NB. The sponge layers can be prepared in advance and stored interleaved with parchment and well-wrapped in the fridge overnight.

1.Position the racks in the top and centre thirds of the oven and heat to 400F (200C).

2.Cut six pieces of parchment paper to fit the baking sheets. Using the bottom of a 9" (23cm) springform tin as a template and a dark pencil or a pen, trace a circle on each of the papers, and turn them over (the circle should be visible from the other side, so that the graphite or ink doesn't touch the cake batter.)

3.Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g) of the confectioner's (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes. (You can do this step with a balloon whisk if you don't have a mixer.)

4.In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner's (icing)sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.

5.Line one of the baking sheets with a circle-marked paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 3/4cup of the batter in an even layer, filling in the traced circle on one baking sheet.

Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the centre and the edges are lightly browned.

While this cake bakes, repeat the process on the other baking sheet, placing it on the centre rack. When the first cake is done, move the second cake to the top rack. Invert the first cake onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. Rinse the baking sheet under cold running water to cool, and dry it before lining with another parchment. Continue with the remaining papers and batter to make a total of six layers. Completely cool the layers. Using an 8" springform pan bottom or plate as a template, trim each cake layer into a neat round. (A small serrated knife is best for this task.)

Ingredients for Chocolate Buttercream:

4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) caster (ultrafine or superfine white) sugar
4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature.

Directions for the chocolate buttercream:

NB. This can be prepared in advance and kept chilled until required.

1.Prepare a double-boiler: quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.

2.Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. You can use a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer for this.

3.Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.

4.Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.

5.When cool, beat in the soft butter, a small piece (about 2 tablespoons/30g) at a time. An electric hand mixer is great here, but it is possible to beat the butter in with a spatula if it is soft enough. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill while you make the caramel topping.

Ingredients for Caramel topping:

1 cup (200g) caster (superfine or ultrafine white) sugar
12 tablespoons (180 ml) water
8 teaspoons (40 ml) lemon juice
1 tablespoon neutral oil (e.g. grapeseed, rice bran, sunflower)
Finishing touches

Directions for the caramel topping:

1.Choose the best-looking cake layer for the caramel top. To make the caramel topping: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Score the cake into 12 equal wedges. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife and an offset metal spatula.

2.Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high and boil without stirring, swirling the pan by the handle occasionally and washing down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush until the syrup has turned into an amber-coloured caramel.

3.The top layer is perhaps the hardest part of the whole cake so make sure you have a oiled, hot offset spatula ready. I also find it helps if the cake layer hasn't just been taken out of the refrigerator. I made mine ahead of time and the cake layer was cold and the toffee set very, very quickly—too quickly for me to spread it. Immediately pour all of the hot caramel over the cake layer. You will have some leftover most probably but more is better than less and you can always make nice toffee pattern using the extra to decorate. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut and separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back and forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.

You'll also need..

a 7” cardboard round
12 whole hazelnuts, peeled and toasted
½ cup (50g) peeled and finely chopped hazelnuts

Lorraine's note: If you're in Winter just now your butter might not soften enough at room temperature, which leads to lumps forming in the buttercream. Male sure the butter is of a very soft texture I.e. running a knife through it will provide little resistance, before you try to beat it into the chocolate mixture. Also, if you beat the butter in while the chocolate mixture is hot you'll end up with more of a ganache than a buttercream!

Angela's note: I recommend cutting, rather than scoring, the cake layer into wedges before covering in caramel (reform them into a round). If you have an 8” silicon round form, then I highly recommend placing the wedges in that for easy removal later and it also ensures that the caramel stays on the cake layer. Once set, use a very sharp knife to separate the wedges.

Assembling the Dobos

1.Divide the buttercream into six equal parts.

2.Place a dab of chocolate buttercream on the middle of a 7 1/2” cardboard round and top with one cake layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with 4 more cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.

3.Optional: press the finely chopped hazelnuts onto the sides of the cake.

4.Propping a hazelnut under each wedge so that it sits at an angle, arrange the wedges on top of the cake in a spoke pattern. If you have any leftover buttercream, you can pipe rosettes under each hazelnut or a large rosette in the centre of the cake. Refrigerate the cake under a cake dome until the icing is set, about 2 hours. Let slices come to room temperature for the best possible flavour.

Storage

I (Angela) am quite happy to store this cake at room temperature under a glass dome, but your mileage may vary. If you do decide to chill it, then I would advise also using a glass dome if you have done. I should also note that the cake will cut more cleanly when chilled.

Variations

Shape: The traditional shape of a Dobos Torta is a circular cake, but you can vary the shape and size if you want. Sherry Yard in Desserts By The Yard makes a skyscraper Dobos by cutting a full-size cake into four wedges and stacking them to create a tall, sail-shaped cake. Mini Dobos would be very cute, and you could perch a little disc of caramel on top.

Flavour: While we both love the dark chocolate buttercream and this is traditional, we think it would be fun to see what fun buttercreams you all come up with! So, go wild! Or, you could brush each layer with a flavoured syrup if you just want a hint of a second flavour. Cointreau syrup would be divine!

Nuts: These are optional for decoration, so no worries if you're allergic to them. If you don't like hazelnuts, then substitute for another variety that you like.

Egg concerns

The cooking process for the buttercream will produce lightly cooked eggs. If you fall into a vulnerable health group then you may wish to use an egg-less buttercream.

Baingan Bharta (Eggplant Curry)

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Indian food incorporates very innovative cooking methods, be it the use of the tandoor or the concept of cooking vegetables directly over the flame thus endowing the vegetable with a great smoky flavor. This particular dish Baingan Bharta has many fans all over the world. It goes wonderfully with any Indian flat bread or simply plain steamed rice.

Baingan or Brinjals are cooked directly over the flame till the skin is charred and can be peeled off combined with a fine blend of spices and some ghee makes up this brilliant creation. While selecting the brinjals for this recipe, be sure to choose one's that are large and with a shiny smooth surface as these are likely to have lower number of seeds. All in all this scrumptious dish is worth all the time and mess it may create!!

Ingredients required:

1 large (750gms) Brinjal (baingan / eggplant)
1/2 tsp for greasing
1 tbsp Ghee or oil(neutral)
1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing)
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 onion(medium sized), chopped
1 1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp grated garlic
1 tsp finely chopped green chilli + 1/2 tsp chilli powder(if you prefer more hot)
2 tomatoes(medium sized), chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tbsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
coriander leaves for garnish

Directions:

Grease the brinjal with oil and roast it over an open low flame till it is cooked. Keep turning the brinjal frequently so that all the sides are equally roasted(skin gets charred) and the inner flesh looks soft. OR you can use an oven which is a much easier option, as you wont have any mess around and you wont have to keep an eye on the brinjal. Just preheat the oven to 200 deg C and line a baking sheet or any other pan with aluminium foil and keep the greased brinjals as it is and bake for 1 hour. Take it out of the oven and let it cool completely. For this you'll need to plan ahead and start off.

Once the brinjals have cooled, peel the skin off and discard the skin. And chop the inner flesh or just roughly mash it. It need not have to be completely mashed. Keep aside.

Heat the ghee/oil in a pan and add asafoetida (hing) and cumin seeds.

When the seeds crackle add the onions and saute till they turn golden brown or translucent.

Add ginger, garlic and green chillies and saute for a few more seconds.

Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and cook covered till the tomatoes turn soft.

Add the mashed brinjal, garam masala powder and salt, mix well and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.

I'm sending this post for the event called "side dish for chapathi". An event hosted by Viki;s Kitchen.

Kesar Pista Kulfi ( Saffron Pistachio Popsicles)

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 07:00:00 +0000

This is a wonderful treat during summer time. Any sweet dessert with a touch of cardamom and saffron gives a wonderful taste and aroma. It has chopped pistachios which give a light green color along with a crunch to the dessert. Its a must try recipe during this hot summer...

Ingredients required..

1 liter Milk
1/2 cup Sugar, can add more or less to your taste
2 pinches of Saffron
1/4 tsp Cardamom powder
1/4 cup Pistachio, finely chopped
2 slices of white bread, crust removed and roughly chopped
1 tbsp Cornflour
1/4 cup of milk

Directions..

In a large pan, on a medium flame boil milk with constant stirring till it reduces to nearly half of its volume or use Evaporated milk instead.

Meanwhile, blend bread, cornflour and 1/4 cup of milk together till you get a nice paste. Keep aside.

When the milk has reduced, add sugar, saffron, cardamom powder and blended paste and bring it to a boil. Test to see if the sugar is right and adjust accordingly.

Turn of the heat and let the milk cool to room temperature.

Then fill your Popsicles with the milk and freeze overnight or nearly 8 hours. If you do not have Popsicles, you can fill the liquid in small cups and when it has half frozen, insert the kulfi sticks and freeze again.

Enjoy the lovely treat!

Nan Khatai ( Eggless Cookies)

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Famous tea time Indian cookies. Egg-less, light and melting in the mouth-its texture is simply irresistible. These cookies traditionally use "Ghee" or "Clarified butter" but using butter or oil would do just fine.

Serves: 20

Ingredients:

200 gms, 2 cups All purpose flour(maida)
100 gms, 1/2 cup Semolina(very fine quality)
150 gms, 3/4th cup cooking oil/ghee/unsalted butter
150 gms, 1 cup + 1/3 cup Powdered sugar
2 tbsp Curd(Yogurt)
1 tsp Cardamom powder
1/4 tsp Soda bi-carbonate
2 tbsps Pistachios(chopped finely)
4-5 tbsp Milk (optional)

Directions:

Beat oil/ghee/butter, sugar and curd together using a hand mixer or a whisk till well combined.

Sieve flour, semolina and soda in a bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the curd mixture. Mix them well using your hands to form a soft dough. Add milk little by little if the dough seems hard otherwise just leave it as it is.

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C. Divide the dough into 20 small balls.

Place the balls 5 cms apart on a baking sheet lined with a baking paper. Press each ball in the center with your thumb and garnish with pista and cardamom powder(You can even use a mortar and pestle to chop and mix pistachio and cardamom powder together).

Place the baking sheet at the lower third rack of the oven and bake at 180 deg C for 15-20 minutes.

Serve hot with coffee or tea.

Om Biscuit (South Indian Style Breadsticks)

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:00:00 +0000

Om biscuit is one of the most popular South Indian bakery item. "Om" meaning Carom seed in "Kannada", a south Indian language. Its basically pencil-sized sticks of crispy, dry, sweet, Carom flavored bread.

This is one of my favourite snack and i badly wanted to try it out at home. After so many experiments and failures, i finally got this recipe right. I'm glad i did it. I'm sure you'll all love it!

Sending this post to Yeastspotting.

Here goes the recipe..
Makes: Eight 12" Sticks or Sixteen 6" Sticks

Ingredients:
1 cup All purpose flour (Maida)
1 tsp Ajwain or carom seeds
5 tsps Sugar
1 tsp Yeast
4 tbsps lukewarm water
3 1/2 tbsps Oil (Vegetable or sunflower)
1/2 tsp Salt

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and lukewarm water (105° to 115°). Let stand for 10 minutes until bubbly and foamy.

Stir in flour, salt, Ajwain and oil into the yeast mixture. Stir together with a wooden spoon or beat with an electric mixer or just use your hands and knead until the dough is shiny, elastic,and soft, 3 to 5 minutes.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Toss the dough well to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let the dough ferment at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C. Line a baking sheet with a parchment paper and keep aside.

After 2 hours, Punch the dough and Knead by hand on a lightly floured surface until very smooth and soft. Divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Using floured hands, stretch and roll each piece of dough into a thin 12-inch-long breadstick. Place the breadsticks about ½ inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. And set aside for about an hour till the dough slightly rises.

Bake at 180 deg C until golden and crisp, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to a rack and let the breadsticks cool completely.

Enjoy and have a great day!!

Healthy Baked Sweet Potato Fries

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:15:00 +0000

This fry will replace all your high fat potato fries. These are healthy, fat free and a baked version of fries. Its easy to prepare and tastes awesome. Try these and you'll never want the fast food French fries.

Here is the recipe..

Serves: 2

Ingredients:
1 medium sized sweet potato
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp Garlic powder or 1 small garlic, mashed (optional)
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp oil, any

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 deg F(220 deg C). Line a baking with with a parchment paper.

Wash, peel, and cut the sweet potato just like you cut the potatoes for the French fries (cut it a little thin if you want a crispy fry).

Now toss the potatoes with the rest of the ingredients and spread them on the lined baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake them at 425 deg F(220 deg C) for 15 to 20 minutes. Few more minutes if you like it crunchy. Do keep an eye so that it doesn't get burned.

Enjoy the fries with a little ketchup!

Also sending my first pic of fries to "CLICK", a food photography event. This month's theme being Bi-Color, any food related picture having just 2 colors. While the pic may have several colours, but TWO colors must be DOMINANT. Here i go..

Enjoy and have a great week!

Mallows - Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Daring Bakers July 2009 Challenge

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

Mallows(Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)

Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Serves: about 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients for the cookies:

3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour
1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter
3 eggs, whisked together
Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows
Chocolate glaze, recipe follows

Ingredients for the marshmallows (Corn syrup Free):

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp. powdered gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
pinch of cream of tartar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup cornstarch

Ingredients for chocolate glaze:

12 ounces (340 gms) semisweet chocolate
2 ounces (1/4 cup)cocoa butter or vegetable oil

Directions:

For the Cookie: In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients.
On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy.
Add the eggs and mix until combine.
Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.
Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.

For the marshmallows: In a saucepan, combine the water and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer. (If you do not have a candy thermometer, refer "the cold water candy test")

Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a large steel bowl and let dissolve.
Pour the cooked sugar over bloomed gelatin in thin steam while the hand mixer is on high speed.
Change to medium speed and add cream of tartar, continue to whip until the mixture hold its shape. Add vanilla extract and salt and continue whipping until stiff.
Transfer to a pastry bag.
Sprinkle cornstarch onto a large baking pan and push it in with the object of your favorite shape and pipe in the marshmallow mixture.

OR Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie directly. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.

Tip: If you are making marshmallows separately then after it sets, just heat up the base of the marshmallow with a lighter for few seconds and take the burnt skin out and stick the burnt side of the marshmallow onto the cookie base. Let it set for few minutes. This helps the marshmallow to stick well to the cookie and wont let the cookie and the marshmallow separate when dipping into the chocolate glaze.

For the glaze:

Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.
One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze.
Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.
Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

Note: if you don’t want to make your own marshmallows, you can cut a large marshmallow in half and place on the cookie base. Heat in a preheated 350-degree oven to slump the marshmallow slightly, it will expand and brown a little. Let cool, then proceed with the chocolate dipping.

Pineapple Gojju ( Pineapple Cooked in a Spicy Coconut Sauce)

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Pineapple gojju is one of the traditional South India recipe served most commonly during marriage functions or festivals. "Gojju" is the term used in South Indian language "Kannada" for a gravy/curry. This gojju is basically nothing but chopped pineapple cooked in a spicy coconut sauce. This recipe goes well with both sweet pineapple and the tangy one. If you're using a sweet one, then you'll need to add more tamarind and if you're using a tangy one, you'll be using less tamarind. You just need to alter the tamarind, palm sugar and salt quantities accordingly.

Its got the tang, sweet, salt and spicy flavors to bring out all together a new delicious flavor. Its a must try recipe!

Ingredients:

1 pineapple , peel and chop into 1 inch cubes, or the canned pineapples
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 cup Urad dal or Black gram
8-10 Byadgi red chillies
1" cinnamon
1 tbsp Poppy seeds
1/2 cup dessicated coconut powder or freshly grated dry coconut
3-4 tbsp jaggery or palm sugar
2 tbsp thick tamarind pulp
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Directions:

Heat the oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let it splutter, then add the chopped pineapple and enough water to cover the pineapple. Do not add more water. Cover and cook at low to medium heat and let it boil for few minutes till the pineapple become slightly soft.

Meanwhile, fry the masala ingredients, i.e., urad dal, red chillies (broken), coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and cinnamon. When urad dal starts turning golden brown, switch off the heat and add the poppy seeds. You add poppy seeds at the end as it doesn't require to be fried for a longer time. Just the heat which is in the pan is good enough.

Cool the masala ingredients and grind it along with the desiccated coconut adding as much water required to form a thick smooth fine paste.

Now add the ground masala paste, along with tamarind juice, jaggery and salt to the pineapple. Bring it to boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the curry thickens. If the curry becomes too thick, you can add water and bring it to the curry consistency. You can taste the curry and adjust the tamarind, jaggery and salt quantities.. As these 3 ingredients play a major role in getting the tongue tickling taste.

Serve with any of the Indian flat breads recipes in my blog, or with plain steamed rice. Enjoy!

Variation: You can follow the recipe with any other tangy fruit like grapes, or any other berries. Just make sure you dont boil the fruits too much and let them hold there shape. Its nice when you get bits of these fruits when eating.

Paushtic Roti (100% Whole Wheat Nutritious Flat bread)

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

The word "paushtic" in Hindi means nutritious, healthy or life giving. This roti is a nutritious combination of a cereal and a pulse along with a green leafy vegetable, enhanced further by the addition of milk or curds. All of these contribute to make this dish rich in folic acid, iron, protein and calcium.

Have these rotis instead of the plain whole wheat chapatis we usually eat.

Recipe adapted from the book Parathas by Tarla Dalal

Makes 12 rotis.

Cooking Time : 20 mins.
Preparation Time : 15 mins.

Ingredients required..

2 cups Whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Bengal gram flour (besan)
3/4 cup boiled and grated potatoes, around 1 medium sized
1 cup Fresh Spinach leaves, finely chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
4tbsp fresh curds or milk
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Other ingredients
Whole wheat flour for rolling
Oil for cooking

Method:
Mix all the ingredients and make a soft, smooth dough. Add a very little water, a tsp a time if required. Too much water can result in a sticky, lumpy dough as even potatoes and spinach leave some water. Leave the dough to rest for 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and roll out each portion into small rotis using wheat flour for rolling.

Cook on a non stick tava (griddle) spreading a tsp of oil on both the sides till small dots of brown skin appears on the skin.

Serve hot with any of your favorite side dish or with just pickle and curd.

Apple Jam

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0000

A delightful treat for your entire family, try this absolutely delicious recipe made simple in microwave. This recipe tastes exactly like the one in the stores, sweet, tangy with a lovely spreadable texture. When its so simple and can be prepared at home, then why buy from a supermarket?

Serves: 1 Cup
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 Apples, big , peeled & Chopped (if taking small apples,take 3 nos)
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
few drops of lemon yellow color (optional)

Method:

Mix sugar and chopped apples in a microwave safe bowl covered. Microwave at 100% power for 3 -4 minutes. Or till apples are softened.

Blend softened apple-sugar mixture in a blender.

Microwave (covered) this blended mixture at 60% power for 7 -8 minutes. or till its slightly thickened and translucent. Stir in between to prevent scorching.

Stir lemon juice, color (if using) and pour in prepared glass jars. Let cool at room temperature and refrigerate. Serve with toasted bread, cakes and cookies.

Have a great week!

Coconut creams with poached rhubarb & a "CLICK"

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:00:00 +0000

I was very new to this vegetable "Rhubarb" and wanted to try out few recipes using it. Then after a lot of search on the internet, i found this "Coconut Cream with Poached Rhubarb" recipe on bbc good food and i immediately decided to go with this recipe. Believe me, it dint disappoint me. Everybody in my house loved it. This dessert tastes awesome together with the combination of sweetened coconut cream with sweet and tangy rhubarb. Its a must try recipe in this season as you wont find Rhubarb in all the seasons.

Rhubarb looks like red celery, but don't let that fool you; beyond that and the strings that run its length, they have little in common. Usually used as a fruit in sweet preparations, rhubarb alone is actually extremely tart, and the roots and the leaves are poisonous (the leaves contain toxic level of oxalic acid). You can take advantages of its tartness or cook it with sugar or other sweet fruits, which is why we see it most often made into pies, preserves , and compotes, often paired with strawberries.

Buying and storing: Look for firm and crisp stalks. Store in the refeigerator and use it as quickly as possible.

Preparing: Rhubarb is best if you string it; grab one end between a paring knife and your thumb and pull straight down to remove the celerylike strings that run lengthwise through each stalk. Remember that rhubarb leaves are poisonous, though only mildly so.

Other fruits to substitute: Cranberries, tart cherries or fresh currants.

Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food

Ingredients:

2 sheets leaf gelatine
400ml can coconut milk
8 tbsp caster sugar
1 vanilla pod
300g rhubarb , cut into short lengths

Method:

Put the gelatine into a bowl and cover with cold water. Leave to soak for 5 mins until softened.

Heat the coconut milk with 4 tbsp sugar in a pan. Bring to a gentle simmer, then remove from the heat. Lift the gelatine from the water and stir into the coconut milk. Keep stirring until the gelatine has dissolved, then pour into four small glass dishes or dessert bowls (if using glass, leave the milk to cool a little first). When the creams are cool, transfer to the fridge and leave to set.

Split the vanilla pod down the centre and put into a pan with 2 tbsp water and the remaining 4 tbsp sugar. Bring slowly to the boil to dissolve the sugar, then add the rhubarb and poach gently until softened but not mushy, about 3-4 mins. Leave to cool.

Spoon the rhubarb over the coconut creams to serve.

This picture above also goes to the CLICK, a monthly food photography event. It is a theme-based contest. This is my first entry for this event and this month's theme is "STACKS" , where you are supposed to click STACKS of any vertical, horizontal, heaped, piled or many of the same or different food related items.

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding

ramya6981@gmail.com (Ramya Kiran) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Daring Bakers June 2009 Challenge

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) Strawberry jam (can use any jam or curd, warmed for spreadability)
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

Ingredients: (I used half the recipe, which fits 6 small 4" tartletts + 10 small cookies,which can be taken along with jam)
225g (8oz, 2cups) all purpose flour
30g (1oz, 2 tbsp) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Directions:
Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Add the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Homemade Strawberry Jam

Ingredients:
1 Kilo Strawberries
500 gms Gelierzucker (Pectin based Sugar)
Sterilized glass bottles

Directions:
Place the strawberries in a colander and rinse them under cold running water. Drain and hull the strawberries. Cut the larger berries in half or quarters and leave the small berries whole. Place the strawberries in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan. Add sugar and gently mix. Once the strawberries start leaving out its juice, switch on the heat on medium. Wit till the mixture comes to a boil. Once it starts boiling, let it boil for another 5 minutes.

To test if the jam has reached its final stage, take a spoon of the mixture on place it on a plate and let cool. Once it cools, the mixture would have turned thick.

Take the mixture off heat and immediately pour it into sterilized glass bottles. Close the lid and keep the bottle upside down for 5 minutes. After that cool the bottle and the bottle can be kept at room temperature. Once the bottle is opened and use, place the bottle in the refrigerator.

I used just a tablespoon of this jam for each tart.

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

Ingredients:
125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well using a spatula. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base.

Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. (I baked 6 tartletts for 15-20 minutes)

Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Enjoy with just a dusting a icing sugar. Its yum!!