Wednesday, May 21, 2014

The Ultimate Roast Chicken

This dish will really get “under your skin!” The secret to this amazing roast chicken is the “compound butter” that we will put under the chicken skin. The butter will actually flavor the bird from the inside and create a delicious and crisp-skinned roast chicken.



Try with Easy Potato Gratin!
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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Dum ka kukkar

Dum ka kukkar


Ingredients
  • Chicken 1 kg 12 pieces
  • Ginger garlic paste 2 tbsp
  • Onion brown ½ cup coarsely grinded
  • Turmeric ½ tsp
  • Chili powder 2 tsp
  • Fennel powder ½ tsp heaped
  • Yogurt ½ tsp
  • Cumin roasted and crushed 1 tsp
  • Clove s 6
  • Oil ½ cup
  • Salt 1 tsp heaped
Method
  • Marinate chicken with salt, chili powder, cumin, fennel powder, ginger garlic and yogurt for 1 hour heat oil add cloves, put chicken with marination, brown onion, cover and cook till done and thick gravy left, serve hot with rice or roti.
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Monday, May 19, 2014

SANDRAS SPICY SWEET and SOUR SMOKED MINI FRANKS

I just love playing with my food,
and these sweet and sour mini-franks
allow you to do just that...
Yields:
(Appx. 4 doz. mini-franks)
Prep: 3 Mins. |
Slow Cook: 2 hrs. on LOW

Posted by Sandra

INGREDIENTS

2 (8 oz. pkgs.) smoked cocktail mini-franks
1/2 jarred chili sauce (or click here for: Homemade Chili Sauce)
½ cup apricot preserves
1/2 teaspoon sriracha sauce
--(Asian hot pepper sauce), or Tabasco

--Toasted french baguette slices

METHOD

Add mini-franks to a slow cooker set to LOW. Whisk all remaining ingredients in a small bowl, (taste for spiciness, adding more sriracha if desired) and add sauce to slow cooker; gently mixing to coat the mini-franks, cover, and cook for 2 hours.

Serve warm or at room temperature with cocktail picks, and baguette slices. – enjoy!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Tip: These are a hoot to serve as mini hot dog sliders, with assorted condiments as well! At times, I also just cut up brats into thirds as an alternative = Yummo!

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Sunday, May 18, 2014

Having a Hard Time Getting to the Big Easy

Just a quick post to let you know Michele and I are heading to New Orleans for a 3-day press trip to cover the Great American Seafood Cookoff. Unfortunately, were stuck at LAX enduring a 6-hour delay, but with any luck we will be arrive to NOLA sometime late tonight (well, actually early this morning!) Stay tuned for more!
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Saturday, May 17, 2014

Butternut Squash Feta Cheese and Roasted Pepper Quiche

Last Sunday my friend came over for lunch.  I thought that some kind of quiche or flan with salad would be ideal.  I had already bought the butternut squash, so went off in search of a recipe that would incorporate this.

In the end my recipe is a kind of combination of a couple of different recipes.  Some of the butternut squash flans were made by pureeing or squishing the squash! A bit like pumpkin pie, no texture, yuk!

My shortcrust pastry comes, as usual, from the Avoca Cookbook I have blogged it before HERE  

I blind baked the pastry case and then made the filling as follows:

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 onion sliced
dessert spoon of brown sugar
olive oil
jar of roasted peppers, drained
pack of feta cheese
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
250ml single cream
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 200C, put the butternut squash and two tablespoons of olive oil in a roasting tray and roast until soft and golden brown.
Gently fry the onion in a little olive oil until soft, add the brown sugar and let it caramelise.

Take the blind baked pastry case, put the caramelised onions in the base, add the roasted butternut squash, chopped feta cheese and roasted peppers.

Beat the eggs, egg yolks, cream and seasoning together.  Pour into the pastry case.  

Turn down the heat in the oven to 180C and bake for about 40 minutes or until the egg is set.

Serve warm or cold with salad.

It was very nice, lots of texture and flavour, the saltiness of the feta went very well with the sweet squash and peppers.  The only thing that bugged me was that the filling leaked out of the bottom of the tin, something that hasnt happened to me for years!  Fortunately, I managed to get it out of the tin without too much trouble.



I am also entering this in the October No Croutons Required challenge over at Tinned Tomatoes, the theme is squash and Im hoping that this counts as salad.

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Friday, May 16, 2014

Ridge gourd peel tomato chutney Beerakaya Thokku Tomato Pachadi


This chutney is made by ridge gourd (beerakaya) peel and tomato.  Ridge gourd peel is full of fiber.

This is a very quick recipe which is made in no time and goes well with rice, dosas or rotis. When making this chutney, choose ridge gourd which is not too hard. By adding tomato gives fine touch and superb taste.



Ingredients:

Ridge gourd peel (cut them into small pieces) – 1 cup
Green chillies – 5-6 no
Tomato -1 no
Coriander leaves – ½ cup
Tamarind – very small lemon size
Jeera – ½ tsp
Garlic – 2pods
Salt as Required

Reasoning

Oil
Mustard seeds -1/2 tsp
Urad dal – ½ tsp
Jeera – ½ tsp
Curry leaves – 2 no
Red chilli – 1 no
Hing a pinch

Preparation
  • In a vessel on medium heat add 1 tsp of oil and add ridge gourd peel and fry for 4-5mins.
  • Add green chillies, garlic, coriander leaves and sauté for a min and keep it aside.
  • In the same vessel add another 1 tsp of oil and fry the chopped tomato and fry till the tomato becomes soft.
  • Once cooled grind all the above sautéed ingredients along with tamarind, jeera and salt.
  • For reasoning heat a tsp of oil in a vessel and add mustard seeds, urad dal and jeera.
  • After they splutter add curry leaves, red chillies, hing and stir for 2-3seconds.
  • Add the reasoning to the grounded paste and serve with rice or dosas.
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Thursday, May 15, 2014

Kosamalli



This a special Chettinad side dish or gravy best suited for Thalicha Idyappam.This is always served with Idyappam in functions. This also goes well with Dosa and idly as it is neither too hot nor too blunt. More important is that the old people in our home usually suggest this as the side dish when somebody at home is recovering after illness.They will tell that it will be good for the non tasty tongue(‘Nakkukku nalla irukkum’) after illness This is very safe for young kids. Those who have started giving solids for their children can use this along with idly. Children will love the little salt and sour taste. As this dish is little watery idly can be smashed in this curry and the children can be fed with a spoon. As the quantity of tamarind, chillies all play an important role in the final outcome of the gravy; I have included the snaps at various stages of cooking.

Ingredients
Brinjal-4
Potato-1
Small onions nicely chopped-20(if not available big onion -1)
Tomato-1 (big)
Green chillies-6
Red chilies-(2)
Tamarind - a very small piece (half the quantity that we use for sambar)
Coriander leaves-2 table spoon
Procedure
Cut the brinjal and potato into 4 pieces each and pressure cook for 8 minutes.
After the pressure goes open the cooker and peel the skin of both brinjal and potato. smash them.

Take 4 cups of water. Dissolve 2 teaspoons salt and the tamarind. Quantity of tamarind is very important. Too much of it will spoil the dish. Then add the smashed portion into the water. Remember that this is a little watery dish .Now keep the kadai in the stove. Add 2 teaspoon cooking oil .Put 1 spoon mustard seed and curry leaf when it cracks, add the green chilies and the red chillie. Don’t worry that it will be too hot. This dish seldom turns hot, however much chilies we add. Then add the onions and finally the tomato pieces. The tomatoes and onions need not get cooked much. Pour the brinjal potato smash mixed water into the kadai. Whe the mixture starts boiling switch off the stove. It need not boil too much. Before serving add the coriander leaves. For children no need to add coriander leaves.
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Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Ozeri Pro Digital Kitchen Food Scale 1g to 11 lbs Capacity Elegant Chrome

Ozeri Pro Digital Kitchen Food Scale, 1g to 11 lbs Capacity, Elegant ChromeThe Ozeri Pro Digital Kitchen Scale is designed for the culinary perfectionist who desires the superior accuracy in function and elegance in form. This multifunction Kitchen Scale incorporates oversized buttons that generate an audible click confirmation for the fast-paced cook, and an automatic Tare button that quickly calculates the net weight of your ingredients by subtracting the container weight, whether the container is a bowl, tray, plate or anything else. The scale is finished in an elegant chrome color, and has a capacity range from a mere 0.05 ounces to 11 lbs. The scale also displays results in both the US and international metric systems (grams | ounces | pounds | kilograms). The large screen features a new bright LCD with an improved viewing angle for the on-the-go cook. The Pro Digital Kitchen Scale Kitchen Scale also includes a 3 minute automatic turn-off that preserves battery life while giving you time to confirm each measurement (batteries included). 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.

Price: $25.00


Click here to buy from Amazon

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Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Radish Fried Rice

This was a pleasant dish but not too different from the last time I made fried rice. Im only posting it because it was such a good way to use up a lot of radishes, which we are now swamped with, having pulled all the root veggies out of the garden this past week. I used 3 different radishes - some spicy, some not - but the end result was extremely sweet and mild. I aimed to use the same flavours as in lo-bak go, and it was a little reminiscent of it, although the texture was of course completely different. Like lo-bak go, it went well with a good dollop of our Chile-Garlic Sauce, which Im also pleased to report is hot but not as insanely hot as I thought it would be when I canned it up.

You could use any kind of daikon or lo-bak radish for this. Mine were a large watermelon radish - this was the one that needed peeling - a Blauer Herbst radish, and a couple of China Rose. Yes, I went on a radish seed buying binge last spring. No, I didnt know what to do with all those radishes. But so far, so good. Ill be sure to plant lots next year too.

We ate it all, but it was all I made. And were pigs too, of course.

2 to 4 servings
30 minute prep time

Radish Fried Rice
5 to 6 cups grated radish
1 medium carrot, grated
2 stalks celery (OR 2 cups grated celeriac)
1 medium onion (OR 3 or 4 green onions)
12-16 shiitake mushrooms
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
250 grams (1/2 pound) bacon
3 cups cold cooked rice
1 or 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Wash the radishes, and trim off the tough stringy parts of the roots, along with any damaged spots. Peel off any skin that seems really tough. (Only likely to be a problem with home-grown radishes I suspect.) Grate the radishes.

Peel and grate the carrot and celeriac, or if using celery, wash and chop it. Peel and chop the onion or green onions. Trim the stems from the shiitakes and cut them in quarters. Mince the ginger. Chop the bacon into bite-sized pieces.

Heat a large skillet or wok and cook the bacon until it is soft and has let off enough fat to coat the pan. (Add a little oil if your bacon is too lean to do that - ha ha! But it has happened.) Add the mushrooms and sauté them for a minute or two. Add the onion (but not the green onions, if using) and the celery and carrot. Cook, stirring for a minute or two. Add the radishes and ginger and continue cooking and stirring, until soft; just a few minutes.

Using wet hands, break up the rice as much as you can and add it to the pan. Rinse those fingers quickly then start stirring in the rice, breaking it up so no significant lumps remain. Add the green onions, if you are using those. Sprinkle over a little soy sauce. When the rice and vegetables are well mixed and the rice is beginning to brown in spots, serve it up; youre done.





Last year at this time I made Stir-Fried Cabbage & Carrots.
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Monday, May 12, 2014

Please Nominate Chef John for a 2012 Tasty Award!

Yes, its that time again! The Tasty Awards are an annual awards show celebrating the best in food and fashion programs on TV, in film, and online. Last year, we won the award for "Best Home Chef in a Series," and would love to defend the title this year.

If youd like to help with the nomination, please follow this link and cast your vote. The two categories we qualify in are "Best Food Program - Web" and "Home Chef in a Series." Thank you for the support!
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Sunday, May 11, 2014

White Balanced Brie with Ripe Pear and Black Pepper

It only took me like a year to realize there was a way to adjust the white balance on the video settings for my camera. Not bad. I knew about this adjustment for still photos, but until recently never figured it out for video.

I was testing my new found skills on a recent late night snack, and when I was done I realized I had a halfway decent video recipe to post. The color still isn’t great, and Ill continue to practice and adjust, but its much better than the yellow-orange cast I used to suffer with.

This simple and delicious ripe brie and pear appetizer is inspired by one of my favorite meatless sandwiches. A couple times a year, I like to take a warm piece of crusty French baguette (now thats redundant!), spread it with a little butter, add some soft, very ripe brie cheese, and a few slices of juicy, equally ripe pear.

This masterpiece of French engineering is finished with a few turns of freshly ground black pepper, and eaten in close proximity to a glass of red wine; truly one of lifes great culinary pleasures.

Here weve taken the same idea and turned it into a very quick appetizer that will work nicely when the occasion calls for something a bit more sophisticated than beer and pretzels. Enjoy!

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Saturday, May 10, 2014

Follow the Sourdough Day 6 And Then He Waited

I decided to leave my sponge overnight; as it hadnt fermented to the point I was hoping it would. This is all part of the fun of sourdough. You have to look, listen, and smell your yeasty friends at each point of the process to determine your next move. I will film the dough-making step this morning and that will just leave the baking and the eating. Stay tuned!
Photo © RBerteig
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Friday, May 9, 2014

Weekend breakfast blogging 3 Green omlette


Eggs, olive oil, herbs, onions, spinach, pepper, wonderful focassia bread, and not to forget, a ripe juicy papaya...Well, Im not penning the lyrics of These are a few of my favourite things-Part deux !

These were the ingredients of our Sunday morning breakfast today. I love
fritattas- the way they look like a pizza when they come out of the oven- all topped with cheesy goodness. Also because one can eat them either hot or cold, and at any time of the day.

Since I have a small sized oven into which my regular saucepans cant fit, I can only make a stuffed omlette-kinda, non-baked version of the fritatta.

Update: We do get a super range of breads in Bombay nowadays-whole wheat, multigrain, focassia, ciabatta, stuffed with sun dried tomatoes and olives- you name it we get it.

There is this cafe thats opened in the new Juhu Shoppers Stop. Yes, Shoppers is coming up with an
attached cafe at many of its branches. These cafes serve a wide range of Indian and world coffees, a variety of sumptous sandwiches, thin crust pizzas, pastas,crepes, tiramisus, biscottis, must mention their blueberry cheesecake. Ooooh ! I can already feel the calorie count zooming!!

Talking about the bread, they sell freshly baked bread in all the varieties that i mentioned earlier. I do have some beautiful pictures of Cafe Brio (courtesy my friend Manoj) which I shall upload in my next post.

Getting back to my Weekend Breakfast Blogging # 3, its Breakfast for 2- Green Omlette with Focassia bread and sliced papaya.





Ingredients for the Green Omlette:

3 eggs
1/3 cup-chopped spinach
1 medium sized onion-sliced
5-6 green pitted olives

1 jalapeno / green chilli - sliced(if you like the spicy kick)
1 tsp mixed dried herbs ( I used oregano and basil )
3-4 Fresh basil leaves-torn
3 cloves garlic-finely chopped (you can use fresh green garlic leaves instead)
freshly ground black pepper
2 T milk
salt to taste
1 T Olive oil

Method:

Heat the oil on a non-stick pan. Add the garlic, onions, spinach with a pinch of salt. Saute for 2 min, until spinach wilts and onions soften. Remove onto a plate and cool.

In a bowl, break 3 eggs. Add milk, salt, herbs, freshly ground black pepper, jalapeno, olives. Beat well. To this, add the sauted spinach-onions. Beat some more.

Keep a 9" non-stick pan on medium flame. Coat the pan with some olive oil. Pour the beaten egg mixture to the pan. Slightly move around the mixture, so that the liquidy part fills the gaps. Keep doing this until the omlette starts solidifying. Reduce the flame, and cover with a lid for 30 seconds. The omlette will fluff up considerably and the lower side would have turned golden.

Flip it over carefully and cook the other side until golden brown too. Once done, remove onto a plate immediately. Serve warm with toasted bread and fruit.

Note:

You can use any of the bell peppers, sun dried tomatoes, roasted pepper in this recipe. I would generally use only the whites but being a Sunday, i decided to give the health-freak in me, a holiday too!

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Thursday, May 8, 2014

The Gluten Free Diet Cheat Sheet How to Go G Free

The Gluten-Free Diet Cheat-Sheet: How to Go G-Free

How to Begin a Gluten-Free Diet


Foods to avoid:


Gluten is the elastic protein found in wheat, rye, barley, durum, einkorn, graham, semolina, bulgur wheat, spelt, farro, kamut, and triticale. Commercial oats also contain gluten due to cross contamination in processing (see more on gluten-free oats below).

Recipes that use flour (bleached white flour, whole wheat flour, cracked wheat, barley, semolina, durum, spelt, farro, kamut, triticale) or vital wheat gluten are not gluten-free.

Semolina, durum, spelt and whole wheat pasta, including cous cous and ramen noodles, are not gluten-free.

Beer, ale and lager are not gluten-free. Brats, meats and sausage cooked in beer are not gluten-free.

Malt vinegar, malt flavorings and barley malt are not gluten-free.

Recipes calling for breadcrumbs, breaded coatings, fried onion rings, flour dredging, bread and flat bread, croutons, bagels, croissants, flour tortillas, pizza crust, graham crackers, granola, cereal, wheat germ, wheat berries, cookie crumbs, pie crust pastry, crackers, pretzels, toast, flour tortillas, sandwich wraps and lavash, or pita bread are not gluten-free.

The vegan protein sub seitan (made with vital wheat gluten) is not gluten-free; and some tempeh is not gluten-free (you must check). Flavored tofu may or may not be gluten-free due to seasoning. Injera bread (traditionally made from teff flour) and Asian rice wraps may be gluten-free, but are not necessarily gluten-free (check labels, always).

Barley enzymes used in malt, natural flavors, and to process some non-dairy beverages, chocolate chips, coffee, teas, and dessert syrups (and even some brown rice syrups) are not gluten-free. Always check.

Read more + get the recipe >>
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Wednesday, May 7, 2014

The Beauty Industry is Taking All Your Money

 
This is my favorite lipstick. It’s YSL’s Rouge Volupte Perlein Impetuous Beige. It’s $34 a pop. So when I get to the end of a tube, I am, to put it mildly, sad. Having seen a few different tutorials on getting the last bit of lipstick out of the tube once it hits that point where you can’t push it up any further, I figured I’d give it a go. I mean, I think we’re all aware the beauty industry is flipping us over and giving us a good shake to take any last shilling they can squeeze out of us, but I never expected there to be another $10 worth of product just kickin’ it underneath! With the leftover product I dug out, I probably won’t need to buy another tube for at least a few more weeks. So yeah! Take THAT YSL Beauty!! (JK, I love you so much, please feel free to send me free stuff, kthanksbai.)

The whole process is mindlessly easy. You only need two things: A toothpick, and a vessel to hold the lipstick once you remove it. I used a small jar I got to hold a sample of a NARS face mask.  

Step 1: Push your lipstick up as far as it will go.Step 2: Run your toothpick along the sides of the lipstick to loosen it from the container. Then start scooping it out into your jar.

Step 3: Keep scooping out the lipstick until there is no more. I was a little horrified to see that it went all the way down to nearly the bottom of the tube. 

I mean, just look at it! You can see all the way down. *Shakes head* What I do for beauty.

There’s probably a final step about microwaving the jar for a few seconds so the lipstick melts into a nice smooth flat surface, but this was enough work for me for one day. 

I dropped the toothpick in the tube when I finished hollowing it out just to show you how far down it goes. THATS MONEY DOWN THERE LADIES!!!!!!!!!!! In the spirit of back to school season, no dollar left behind, yall.
Step 4: Seal it up and apply with a lip brush.
Does anyone else do this? What are you supposed to do to make it smooth and flat in the container? How many wears are you able to get from the stuff you scoop out???
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Monday, May 5, 2014

Gateau St Honore

Gateau St Honore


Ingredients
  • Ingredients for choux pastry
  • Butter 200g
  • Water 400g
  • Flour 200g
  • Salt a pinch
  • Eggs 4 to 5
Ingredients for filling
  • Vanilla custard 1cup
  • Fresh cream whipped 1 cup
  • Ingredients for caramel
  • Sugar 1 cup
Method
  • Preheats oven at 200C, On a floured board, spread the prepared choux pastry into a thin sheet. With the help of a pizza cutter cut into a 10 inch circle. Transfer the circle to a greased baking tray ,Fill the remaining choux pastry into a pastry bag and pipe a line of choux around the edge of the sheet.
  • Next, on a separate greased baking tray, pipe about small puffs.. Bake both sheets for 10 minutes until golden brown in color. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Method for filling
  • Whip cream and fold in the vanilla custard. Place bowl in freezer for 20 minutes
Method for assembling
  • Melt the sugar in a saucepan. Heat the sugar until dissolved into a syrup then bring to the boil without stirring and cook until the mixture caramelises, turning a light golden colour.Fill the piping bag with the prepared filling and fill the profiteroles. 
  • Now drizzle the liquid caramel on the first layer of profiteroles on the base layer.Pl ace a second round of choux over the first, like build a wall, securing with more caramel Continue in this fashion until all the filled pastries are used. Fill the center of the "wall" with whipped cream and garnish with chocolate curls.
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Sunday, May 4, 2014

Perfect French Baguette at Home – Only Impossible If You Don’t Try It

Whenever someone asked me why I hadn’t done a baguette video yet, I’d tell them because you just can’t recreate an authentic loaf of French bread at home. 

I’d explain about the water, the flour, the centuries old starters, and the steam-injected ovens. I told them what I’d been told; that it was simply impossible, or as the French say, "impossible!"

That was, until I actually tried to make some. Much to my amazement, not only was it possible, it was really pretty simple. The key is water. That goes for the dough, and the baking environment. The dough must be very sticky, as in hard-to-work-with sticky. This is nothing well-floured fingers can’t conquer, but I did want to give you a heads-up.

Besides the water content in the dough, the oven must also be moist. This humidity, in addition to some occasional misting will give the crusty baguettes their signature look. How does this work? You know how when someone pours water on the rocks in a dry sauna, and suddenly it feels way hotter? It probably has something to do with that.

Anyway, who cares why it works, the important thing here is that real, authentic, freshly-baked baguette is now an everyday reality. One thing worth noting; I adapted this no-knead version from a recipe I found herelast year. The original is in metric, so I’ve converted it, but also included the original flour and water units in case you want to get it exact. I hope you give this easy, and so not impossible baguette recipe a try soon. Enjoy!


For 4 smaller or 2 large baguette:
1/4 tsp dry active yeast (I used Fleischmanns Rapid Rise Yeast)
(Note: if you want to use a traditional bread technique, add the whole package of yeast (2 1/4 tsp) and proceed as usual)
1 1/2 cups water (325 grams)
1 3/4 tsp salt
18 oz by weight all-purpose flour (500 grams), about 4 cups
- Mix dough and let rise 12-14 hours or until doubled
- Punch down and shape loaves, let rise covered with floured plastic 1 to 1 1/2 hr or until almost doubled
- Bake at 550 F. about 15 minutes or until well-browned
- Spray with water before baking, at 5 minutes, and at 10 minutes during cooking time
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Saturday, May 3, 2014

PUMPKIN SPICE CUPCAKES

This is a wonderful recipe for several reasons: the cupcakes are super moist and tender, they are mildly spiced and the batter goes together with one bowl and a whisk; what could be easier? They are so tasty, that they really dont need a frosting, although I like to serve them frosted with a simple maple flavored butter cream (pumpkin and maple are MADE for each other). Everyone loves these simple cupcakes!!

In a large bowl, mix together with a whisk:

(1)  15 ounce can of pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 2/3  cup of granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
(scant) 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
(scant) 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Whisk together until very well mixed, then add:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Mix well, then stir in 1/2 cup of raisins (optional).

Fill cupcake papers 3/4 full.  Bake in a 350 oven for 23-25 minutes (my electric oven takes 23 minutes) or until toothpick tests clean.  Remove and cool.

After the cupcakes have cooled, dust the tops with powdered sugar or frost with your favorite frosting.


I never measure my "everyday" frosting, but heres a stab at it:

Melt 3 tablespoons butter; add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon maple extract.
Add 1 to 1½ cups of powdered sugar and a couple tablespoons of cream.  Whisk till smooth. If it seems a little to dry, add another tablespoon of cream.  If it seems a little too wet, had another spoon of powdered sugar.  

MAKES 24 CUPCAKES
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Friday, May 2, 2014

Ambada Gosht





INGREDIENTS Ambada 1big bunch Mutton with bones 1/4th kilo Onions 1big Ginger-Garlic paste 2Tbpns loung 2 Dalchi 1 Tomatoes 4 Kasuri methi 2 handfuls Red chilli pwdr 2Tspns Turmeric pwdr 1/4th Tspn Green Chillies 6 METHOD


  • Heat 5Tbspns of oil in a cooker and add loung,patta,later add sliced onions and fry to golden brown in colour.

  • Add ginger-garlic paste and fry till it turns little brown

  • Add tomatoes and cook till they get mashed

  • Add mutton,salt,red chilli pwdr,turmeric pwdr,green chillies and kasuri methi with 1 and 1/2 cups of water and pressure cook for 15mins on low flame.

  • In a different vessel add the ambada leaves and puit salt and 2 green chilles together with 1 glass of water and condense till all the water evaporates.

  • Hand grind ambada with dal-ghotni(or put in grinder)

  • Add this ambada paste to gosh and cook on low flame till the consistency is a bit thick.


COMBINATIONS

Papads,Shami kabab,tuna cutlets.


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Thursday, May 1, 2014

Marzipan Cookies

Marzipan Cookies


Ingredients
  • Almond ground 200 gm
  • Icing sugar 100 gm
  • Egg yolk 2
  • Vanilla essence few drops
  • Baking powder ½ tsp
  • Butter 2 tbsp
  • Flour 2 tbsp
  • Milk 4 tbsp
  • Salt to taste
Method
  • Boil 200 gm almonds and remove their skin.Now grind finely and remove in a bowl, add in 100 gm icing sugar, 2 egg yolks, few drops of vanilla essence, ½ tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp flour, 4 tbsp milk and salt to taste. Knead to dough and keep aside.
  • Now make small balls, make cookies and put in a greased oven proof dish.Bake in a preheated oven on 200 degrees for 8 – 10 minutes.Then remove from oven and serve.
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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Irish mutton cutlets

Irish mutton cutlets


Ingredients
  • Mince ½ kg
  • Onion 1 chopped
  • Ginger garlic 1 tsp
  • Water 1 cup
  • Bread 2 slices
  • Green chilies 2 chopped
  • Salt 1 tsp
  • Black pepper 1 tsp
  • Mustard powder ½ tsp
  • Crushed red pepper 1 tsp
  • Egg 1
  • Dry bread crumbs as required
  • Wooster sauce 2 tbsp
  • Coriander leaves 2 tbsp
  • Oil for frying
Method
  • In a pan cook mince with chopped onion, ginger garlic paste, chopped onion, salt and water till tender and dry, mix in the mince, bread slices, green chilies, Wooster sauce, coriander leaves mix well, make oval shape cutlets, dip into beaten eggs coat with dry bread crumbs, fry golden brown.
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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Dahi baray

Dahi baray


Ingredients
  • Mash ki daal 1 cup
  • Moong ki daal ½ cup soaked for 6 hours
  • Ginger 1 inch piece
  • Crushed red pepper 1 tsp
  • White cumin ½ tsp
  • Baking soda ½ tsp
  • Yogurt 1 kg
  • Sugar 2 tbsp
  • Salt ½ tsp
  • Crushed cumin ½ tsp
  • Crushed red pepper 1 tsp
Method
  • Blend the soaked daal with ginger, crushed red pepper, cumin and salt, just before frying add soda, beat well, heat oil and fry into small balls till light golden, remove and cool completely then soaked in warm water for 30 minutes, beat yogurt with salt, crushed cumin, crushed red pepper, take 1 cup yogurt, mix with ½ cup milk, wheat add your soaked well pressed dahi baras into the yogurt with milk, put this into a paltter, pour remaining thick yogurt on top, drizzle with khatti methi chatni, garnish with chat masala, crushed red pepper and coriander leaves.

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Monday, April 28, 2014

Stuffed Peppers with Bulgur Bulgurlu Biber Dolması


























This dolma recipe is definitely for those who love bulgur. If you dont like bulgur, then your recipe for stuffed peppers is this one. On the other hand, if you like bulgur, this is a great recipe with fresh herbs and refreshing lemon zest.


























5-6 small bell peppers (do not use those huge American bell peppers; they have really thick skin, are too big for stuffing, and most important of all are not flavorsome)
1/2 cup coarse bulgur
1 big onion, finely chopped
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 bunch dill chopped
1-2 tsp mint flakes
2 long green chilies like anaheims, chopped
4 medium tomatoes, petite diced
approximately 1 tsp lemon zest
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp crushed peppers
salt
water

























-Take the tops of bell peppers. Take the seeds out, wash and rinse.
-Saute onion, green onion, and chilies with 1/4 olive oil for 5-6 minutes.
-Add bulgur, tomato, dill, lemon zest, salt, and crushed peppers. Stir for a minutes. Add 1/3 cup hot water. Cover and cook until bulgur soaks all the water.
-Stuff bell peppers with bulgur mix. Place in a pot facing up.
-Pour hot water half way through peppers. Scatter rest of the olive oil. First bring to a boil and then cover and simmer on low for half an hour.
-Serve warm with yogurt.

This dolma recipe is for Weekend Herb Blogging for the enriching contribution of fresh dill. WHB is founded by Kalyn and is hosted by Ulrike of Kuchenlatein.
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Sunday, April 27, 2014

Chettinad Mutton Chukka chettinad mutton dry



Another chettinad non veg delicacy.Who will not love a plate of mutton chukka and curd rice.Today afternoon my younger daughter was telling Amma I should thank only the readers of your blog for getting these mouth watering curries.I very rarely buy mutton and even if I buy I will go for mutton with bones and make gravy like with that fearing the high fat content in that.Since I am running out of good chettinad non veg items to blog,I thought of making this today.An awsome lunch we had today. If you people are able to get good fresh mutton in your area surely give a try.You are sure to get an appreciation.Here we get good mutton so it was well cooked with in 12 minutes in the cooker.Cooking time of mutton depends on the quality and freshness of mutton.

Ingredients
Mutton-350 gms
Minced onion-Big(2) Small -30
Tomato-1
Ginger garlic paste-1 teaspoon
Corriander powder-3 teaspoon
Kuzhambu milagai Thool-3 teaspoons
Turmeric powder-1/2 teaspoon
Garlic Chopped-5 pods
To grind
Grated cocunut-2 tablespoons(As little as you can grind in a mixie)
Kas kas or cashews- 1 teaspoon or 5
fennel seeds-1 teaspoon
To season
Cinamon-2 small pieces
Clove-2
Bay leaf-a small piece
Curry leaf-little
Fennel seed-1 teaspoon

Procedure
Wash and cut the mutton into uniform pieces.Keep a pressure pan or small cooker in the stove.In one teaspoon of oil add 1 tablespoon onion,little garlic(qty shown in the plate with mutton) and saute.Add the mutton pieces and saute for 2 minutes.Add the coriander powder and 1 spoon kuzhambu milagai thool or chilli powder.Put 1/2 the qty of salt needed(1 teaspoon).Pour 1 cup of water.Mix everything well.If you think your mutton is not good and will take time to cook add 1/2 cup more water.Close the cooker.Once the pressure starts coming Sim the stove and switch off after 12 minutes.Meantime grind the items given into grind.
Keep a sauce pan or kadai in the stove and in 2 table spoons of oil season the chukka with the items given in to season and saute the ginger garlic paste, onion,tomatoes shown in the small plate.Now add the grounded masala and saute nicely.Open the cooker separate the mutton pieces.Add the gravy left into the kadai along with the remaining kuzhambu milagai thool and salt and go on stirring It will very fast become thick.Now add the mutton pieces and go on stirring till you get the desired consistency.(if you stop stirring,the masal will get burnt).So be careful.It will take only 5 to 10 minutes.Garnish with fresh coriander leaves

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Saturday, April 26, 2014

Easy Honey Cake

       
This cake is soft and spongy. Combination of cream and chocolate sauce goes so well together it melts in your mouth. Its  simple to make and the reward, is delicious .

    
      Ingredients:  
8 eggs
1 cup sugar
6 oz honey
1 teaspoon baking soda pour vinegar on top
2.5 cups flour

      Frosting
1 stick butter
1 cup powered sugar
24 oz sour cream
16 oz cool whip

     Chocolate
1 stick butter
8 tablespoons milk
8 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons baking cocoa powder

Print  

 Легкий медовый торт print



Whip eggs with sugar for 10 min until fluffy.


Add honey and baking soda. Mix on slow.


Mix in flour by hand. This is the key for fluffy cake. 

It will look bubbly. Use 10 in baking pan. It makes 3 layers large cake. Or make 2 small ones.


 Bake on 300F until brown.The way to check if its ready is touch the top of cake with finger and if the dough  comes up, its ready.


To make cream mix butter until soft.

Add powdered sugar, mix and add 2 tbls sour cream mix well.
Then add all the sour cream, mix. 


Add cool whip. Mix well. Now cream is ready.


Start spreading cream on the cake.

Put thick layer of cream.

To make chocolate melt butter add milk.

 In a bowl mix sugar with cocoa powder. 

Add to butter milk mix, until starts to boil. Use a sifter when putting cocoa powder with sugar.
              
 Mix well and turn off the stove.


Then pour it on the cake.


You can spread cream a different way.




                                          Enjoy!!!
Entered my cake at Will cook for smiles
willcookforsmiles party button

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