Sunday, October 31, 2010

Praline Bavarian Cream Pudding

Mum regularly made this dessert from her treasured collection of recipes. It would delight anybody wanting a hint of sweet aftertaste... especially after a heavy meal.


Ingredients:
[Serves 6]
Eggs - 3
Milk - 1 1/2cup
Sugar - 1/2cup
Gelatin - 4tsp
Whipping Cream - 1cup
Sugar (for Caramel) - 3tsp
Cashew nut Pieces - 3dsp

Soak gelatine in half cup of milk. Beat the yolks and sugar well till it turns a light yellow colour. Into a pan, heat milk and the egg yolk mixture over low heat till it thickens, and coats the back of the spoon. When it starts to thicken, add in the milk mixed with the gelatine. Take it off the fire and let it cool in the refrigerator till  it is half set, which means it would be slightly wobbly. In the meantime caramelize the 3tsp sugar into a pan. Once the sugar has caramelized, add in the cashew nuts. Coat the cashew, pour the caramel onto a greased tray. Once it is cooled, grind coarsely and keep aside.
Whip the egg whites until stiff and forms soft peaks. Fold the egg whites into the half set pudding  until well combined. Then add in the whipped cream and mix well. The pudding consistency should be creamy. Pour the pudding into bowls/ ramekins/ or into a shallow dish and let it set in the refrigerator. Top the pudding with the coarsely ground praline while serving.



Saturday, October 30, 2010

Mutton Masala with Mint 'n' White Radish Chutney~ The Punjabi Way!

One of the shows I saw on TLC, by Madhur Jaffrey, this specific episode was on Punjabi Cuisine. She had demonstrated authentic Punjabi style lamb chops. I have substituted lamb chops for regular mutton pieces and tweaked the recipe a bit....but the end result is fantatisco!






Ingredients:
Mutton chops/ pieces - 1kg
Ginger - 3tbs finely chopped
Garlic - 6-8pods chopped
Tomato - 1 roughly chopped
Onion - 2medium finely chopped
Cayenne Powder - 1 heaped tbs
Yoghurt - 300ml
Punjabi Garam Masala - 3-4tsps
Roasted Cumin Powder - 1tsp
Lemon Juice - 3tbs
Freshly chopped coriander leaves

Into a large pan, pour some oil and put in the onions, saute for a minute, then add the tomatoes. Saute the tomatoes for about 3minutes, add in the yoghurt, cayenne powder, salt, ginger garlic paste and the mutton pieces. Mix and bring the curry to a gentle boil. Lower the heat, cover and cook the mutton for about 45 minutes and the mutton is almost tender. Then add the roasted cumin seeds and simmer for 15minutes till the mutton is tender and the curry thickens to a sauce. Then add the garam masala and lemon juice, stir well. Add in the chopped coriander. Serve hot.


To make the Punjabi Garam Masala
The spice combinations in garam masala vary in different parts of India: 5 tbsps coriander seeds, 3 tbsps cumin seeds, 2 1/2 tbsps black peppercorns, 2 black cardamom seeds, 2 inch cinnamon stick, 4-5 cloves, 1/6 nutmeg. Put the coriander and the cumin into a cast-iron frying-pan over a medium heat. Stir until lightly roasted. Allow to cool. Grind with the remaining ingredients in a clean coffee grinder and store in a tightly lidded jar.


Mint and White Radish Chutney

Ingredients:
Mint leaves - 2cups
White Radish - 1 chopped (which is about 270gms)
Green chilly - 1-2 chopped
Onion - 1 chopped
Lemon Juice - 2tbs
Salt to taste


Combine all the ingredients into a blender and add water as needed


Monday, October 25, 2010

Creamy Dill Cucumber Toasties



Super easy appetizer, looks good on the platter for a party and the crowd would love it!

Ingredients:
Cream cheese - 8oz 1 packet
Mayonnaise - 1/2cup
Lebanese Cucumber - 3 finely sliced
Dried dill weed - 2tsp
One packet of toasts/ rusks

 
Into a medium bowl, mix in cream cheese, mayonnaise and dill weed. Spread a thin layer onto the toast and arrange a slice of cucumber atop and serve.


Sunday, October 24, 2010

Quick Fix'd Salad

It was one of those days, when your trying to diet...and your stomach grumbles...and I'm pacifying myself with this salad..I like this salad because the efforts involved to whip it up are minimal, and the number shown calorie counter definitely puts a smile in the face..


Ingredients:
Lebanese Cucumbers - 1/2cup chopped
Tomatoes - 1/2cup chopped
Frozen Sweet corn - 1/2cup thawed and boiled
Coriander leaves - 2tbs chopped
Lemon juice - 2tbs
Orange zest - just a wee bit
Sweet paprika powder - just a sprinkle
Salt to taste
Olive oil to drizzle


Mix all the ingredients in together into a medium bowl except the chopped coriander leaves, sweet paprika powder and olive oil. Before serving, sprinkle in the coriander leaves and sweet paprika powder.Drizzle in oilve oil and enjoy.


Saturday, October 23, 2010

Lamington Towers



I saw it first on Ria's blog and it was on my list of 'must attempt'. Then Lesa my friend in Singapore, tried the same for her husband's bday and she sent me pictures of the one she baked with love....and I just knew my mum in law would be delighted at this fancy looking cake if I too baked it. The best part is I got my little one to help me make little flags out of tooth picks and a napkin corner to adorn our tower...and mum in law was impressed by all means..


Things you'd need:
Plain Cake
Chocolate Coating
Dessicated coconut




For the cake
Ingredients:
All purpose flour- 2cups
Eggs-2
Baking powder-2 heaped tsp
Baking Soda-1/2 tsp
Salt-1/4 tsp
Butter-125 g 
 Caster Sugar-7 tbsp 
Milk-1 1/4 c
Vanilla extract-1/2-1 tsp


Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  Beat butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon till light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one by one and beat it well after each addition. Add flour and milk alternately starting and ending with flour. Add in the vanilla extract. If the batter is thick, add more milk and make it to the right consistency. Pour into a prepared square pan and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for 35 mins. Cool and cut the cake into small 2x2 inch squares.

For the chocolate coating
Butter-1 1/2 tbsp
Sugar-3c, powdered
Cocoa powder-3 heaped tbsp 
Water-3/4 c

Mix sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl.  Boil water and butter together. Add this to the sugar-cocoa mix and stir well . Chocolate coating is ready. 

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

A Sweet Punch~ Molten Lava Cake


This month couldn't have gotten any better with the team announcing the Molten Lava cake as the challenge. The timing was just perfect, my brother in law had been pestering me to make him one...and to top it off he spent a good three days with me and my husband. So baked him one to keep him happy. The joyous moment calls for, when the spoon dug right through, to release the warm delicious chocolate center..


Ingredients:
Semi - Sweet Baking Chocolate – 4 oz (113g)
Butter – 4 oz (113g)
Eggs – 2
Sugar – 1/3 cup (75 g)
All-purpose Flour – 1/4 cup (40g)
Butter – for greasing ramekins


In a double boiler, melt chocolate. In a medium mixing bowl, beat Eggs and Sugar until light and fluffy. Once chocolate is melted, remove pan from heat and add in butter. Mix until the butter melts fully. Add chocolate/butter mixture into the eggs, add all-purpose flour and mix until well incorporated. Butter bottom and sides of ramekins (small glass/porcelain bowls) and pour in mixture about 3/4 way full. Place ramekins on a baking tray and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 C) for 10 – 15 minutes. Shorter for gooey (molten) inside, longer for stiff inside. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream.

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