"SMITTEN" : VANILLA CUPCAKES WITH NUTELLA FILLING

I call them the "smitten cupcakes", not only because of their appearance but also this is the only time I've got my cupcakes perfect and well that left me smitten ,  somehow I usually manage to go wrong with them and before getting these right , I had to throw a batch of 24 in the bin . I'm a big fan of cupcakes personally , they are just the right size of the sweet bite you need with latte or chocolat chaud, but I've never been able to get my hands on a good cupcake except for of course the gourmet high end patiserries in the metro cities where I usually end up paying quite as much to make 50 of them ( not exaggerating its quite true ) , well after a lot of experiments I've zeroed down to this recipe , which yields about 12-18 (medium -small ) respectively as per your preference , light and moist perfect vanilla cupcakes.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 Cups Flour ( Maida)
• 1 Cup powdered sugar 
• 1/2 Cup softened butter + 2 Tbsp for the filling 
• 1/2 Cup Milk + 1 Tbsp for the filling 
• 1 Tsp Baking powder 
• 1/4 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1 Tsp Vanilla extract 
• 1/4 Cup Nutella for the filling 

METHOD:

• Preheat the oven at 180 degrees celsius 
• Sieve the flour , baking soda and baking powder together in a bowl and keep aside .
• Whisk the butter and sugar well , if using an electric beater ,a minute is enough , if you're , whisking by hand give it 2-3 minutes .
• Add in the eggs one at a time , whisking well until combined , whisk the mixture for about 1-2 minutes , and add in the vanilla extract .
• To this mixture add the flour and milk , alternately following the sequence (flour , milk,  flour , milk , flour) and whisk well for about 2-4 minutes .
• Line a cupcake tray with paper and pipe in the mixture filling the cup half or slightly more .
• Bake for about 20-22 minutes or until done . Check with a skewer after 20 minutes .
• For the filling : In a microwavable bowl add in the nutella , 2tbsp butter and 1 tbsp milk and warm for about 30 seconds , and whisk well with a fork.

• Your cupcakes will like this after they are done , once out from the oven allow them to cool for 1 hour on the wire rack , before you start filling them up .

• Use a knife to cut out a small hole in the centre of the cupcake , and gently create a well inside

• Fill the filling into this well , using a fork .

• Use the crumb like shavings of the cupcake , to cover up the hole and have a smooth surface .

 

• For the Fondant Icing : Using and making fondant is usually a tricky task ,I usually follow this easy peasy recipe by all recipes . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF5R0YxKYqE , you can follow the link here for the same . The recipe uses shortening , it may not be available to us , so instead you could use butter or canola oil ideally , otherwise any cooking oil easily available also solves the purpose .

0

FISH & BEET : Steamed fish on a beet rice bed , served with roast potato skewers , garlic butter and blue cheese and beet purée in a roasted potato pot

Well it's the weekend already , sometimes rather than going pub hopping , or a fine dine you feel like throwing on some pyjama sitting back and relaxing and enjoying a good meal at home , a glass of good wine with some oldie music  , I used to have this feeling quite often when I was in college , my flatmate and also best friend as big a foodie as I am  , our week would revolve around what we are going to cook over the weekend , we couldn't plate up exotic dishes due to lack of funds and appliances , college students are always broke , no matter how much allowance you get it just isn't enough ever . So our dishes then would be usually pan seared chicken with a few basic ingredients , I am going to write a detailed post on our budget  food experimentation recipes soon . 

This dish came up over a discussion on the phone with my significant other about coloured rice , which reminded me of a master chef recipe where one of the contestants coloured baby octopus using beetroot and it all happened as I was on an "apparent diet " then so i wanted to have steamed fish . I pared up the combination and marinated my fish with the herbs that compliment the underrated beetroot flavour and had this absolutely stunning and delicious dish plated up . I usually am never satisfied with my food ,  always feel I could improve a bit more here and there but this is one of those experiments that boosted my confidence , and left my taste buds spell bound. The dish does have a lot of components but it isn't difficult to do them at all , the steps are extremely simple . 

INGREDIENTS:

• Fish Fillet , about an inch thick ( You could use any fish , due to lack options living in jaipur i had to use catfish and surprisingly it came out very well , if i have the option , would  use a salmon fillet , it being by favourite fish )
• For the marinade : Thyme and Pepper about 1 Tbsp each 
• 1 Tbsp Oil 
• 2 Cups of Beetroot , diced finely 
• 3-4 Large Potatoes 
• Half a cup of butter 
• 5-6 Cloves of Garlic , chopped finely 
• 1 Cup of rice 
• 1 Tbsp of Blue cheese 
• 1 Tbsp Cornflour

METHOD:

• In a bowl , add the thyme , pepper and oil and apply on the fish evenly . Wrap the fish in foil, seal all ends and fork the fish through the foil gently . Keep the fish aside until you have the other components ready .
• Scoop the potatoes ,  apply a tbsp of butter with salt and thyme , roast it in the oven at 180 degree Celsius for about 25-35 minutes , or until done , you can even use an air fryer for this step , and cook potatoes for about 10-12 minutes in the air fryer . Also roast the potato pots made from scooping the potatoes , cut the round edge so that it is flat and  can stand on the plate 
• Put the rice to boil with about two cups of water in a vessel and lid it until done .
• Sauté one and a half cup of beetroot with garlic , add 1/4th cup  of water and cover it with a lid , cook until the beetroot is on the softer side but not gooey. 
•  Mash the beetroot , don't mash them fine , slight chunky pieces in the rice compliments the flavours and links nice .
• Add in the cooked rice to the beetroot mash , and there you go , your yummy pick rice is ready 
• Put the fish to steam , I used a bamboo steamer over a wok but you could also use a rice cooker if you don't have the bamboo steamer , cook the fish for about 8-12 minutes 
• Meanwhile your fish is getting done , for the beetroot purée  churn the left half cup in the food processor , in a pan heat about a tsp of oil and add in the churned beet , and stir for about a minute , add a tbsp of cornflour and stir again for about a minute , add in the blue cheese . 
• For the garlic butter , melt the butter in the microwave , in a pan sauté the garlic until golden brown and add in to the melted butter 
• Once your fish is cooked , sprinkle some salt on it and  assemble all the components onto the plate , and devour this yummy dish ! 

Voila! Its ready !!!

0

SAUCESOME LOTUS STEM

Well , this came up to satisfy my persistent craving for " Indianised Chinese" , I'm anyways a big Chinese food junkie , love love love the cuisine absolutely both the authentic as well as the variable versions available to me in the Indian market , and the lotus stem was my significant other's suggestion as his mother is very fond of the dish , that was the motivation for me to get it right , also I had never had lotus stem in this form before . It tastes amazing , and the crunchiness of the stem , with the added flavouring make it lip-smacking good . It took barely any time to cook this one , super quick and can be an innovative new appetiser  you serve at a dinner party or with a round of drinks .

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 Cups of Lotus Stem, sliced thinly 
• 1 Onion sliced thin 
• 2 Capsicums Sliced lengthwise
• 5-6 Cloves of garlic , Chopped finely 
• 1/2 Cup cornflour
• 1/2 Cup Tomato ketchup 
• 4 Tbsp Soya Sauce 
• 1 Tbsp Vinegar
• 8 Tbsp Honey 
• 3-4 Tbsp Chilli Flakes 
• 2 Tsp of Sesame seeds , for the garnishing 
• Oil for deep frying + 1 tbsp for sautéing  
• Salt as per your liking 

METHOD: 

• Heat the oil for deep-frying 
• Dust the louts stem with cornflour , and deep fry and drain the excess oil on an absorbent paper.
• In a wok or non-stick pan , heat a little oil about a tbsp , and sauté the garlic onion and capsicum , on low flame. 
• Add in the ketchup, soya sauce , honey , chilli flakes and vinegar and bring to a boil.
• Add in the fried lotus stem and stir it gently , till they are coated in the sauce evenly.
• Remove from fame and serve them with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and leftover sauce from the pan .

0

MODIFIED EGGY IN THE BASKET

All of us here are familiar with the sitcom F.R.I.E.N.D.S aren't we? Well this utterly delicious breakfast is inspired by Joey's , Eggy with  the bread , with the hole in the middle. I happened to make this dish more interesting by replacing the bread from the original dish with bell pepper rings , it adds in more flavour and looks wonderful . It is ridiculously easy and can even be managed by a 5 year old fantastically , very quick to do and tastes even better. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Egg per ring 
• Bell Peppers , cut in to rings 
• Salt and pepper , as you like it 

METHOD:

• Add a teaspoon of butter in a non - stick fry pan preferably , if you aren't using a non stick one the grease your pan well . Allow it to warm for about 30 seconds to a minute on low flame 
• Put your bell pepper rings in the pan 
• Break an egg in each ring and sprinkle salt and pepper on the eggs 
• Cover the frying pan with the lid and let the eggs cook for 5 minutes approximately , and check the eggs after that .
• If you want the yolk runny , you may remove them sooner when the eggs look gooey rather than firm.
• [TIP: cook the eggs on low flame as you don't want the base to burn ,  if the eggs ooze out a little don't get nervous , you can smoothen the edges when they are done .]

0

THAI STYLE BASIL AND MUSHROOM CHICKEN / TOFU CURRY WITH CHILLY STEAMED RICE

The first thing that pops up in your mind when you say Thai food is the aroma , the cuisine is the one of the most popular around the globe as per statistics , the core ingredients of a basic thai dish being , peanuts , coconut milk , kaffir lime leaves , lemongrass. All these unconventional flavours blend  together make it aromatic and flavourful also its low fat as compared to other cuisines . The dish here is what I picked up from a small food cart at Patong beach in Phuket and the lady at the stall was sweet enough to teach me how to cook it  . Its one dish i usually incorporate at any dinner as its quick to do for a large gathering and also exotic . 

INGREDIENTS :

• 350 gms of  Boneless Chicken, diced according to your preference ( for a vegetarian option Tofu )
• A packet of button mushrooms (about 12 pieces, chopped as per your preference i usually chop them roughly as I like chunky pieces of mushroom )
• Fistful of Basil leaves 
• 3-4 dried kaffir lime leaves , don't have to worry if they aren't available easily the dish tastes as tasty even without them 
• Chives , finely chopped about 5-6
• Ginger , finely chopped about a tablespoon
• 2 Tbsp os Soy Sauce 
• 1 Tbsp of oyster sauce }
• 1 Tbsp Real Thai Schezwan sauce 
• 1.5 Tbsp of fish sauce } for a vegetarian alternative of these sauces you can use 3 Tbsps of Pad Thai sauce by Real thai 
• Half cup Chicken stock ( use the cubes as its more convenient ) Vegetable stock for the vegetarians 
• Half a cup coconut milk 
• 1 Tbsp cornflour
• 1/2 cup of rice ( you could use any variety of rice )

METHOD:

• Prepare the chicken stock as per the instruction on the cube stir in the sauces and cornflour while the stock is warm and keep aside 
•  Heat a teaspoon of oil in a non stick wok / pan , and sauté the chives and ginger for about a minute . 
• Add in the chicken/tofu and cook until the chicken is white and starts leaving its fluid , for the tofu a minute or so is enough . 
• Add in the Mushrooms basil leaves and kaffir lime leaves,  cook it with the lid for about 2 minutes or until the mushroom looks done .
• Add in the chicken stock mixture prepared in the first step and the coconut milk and lid it on low flame for about 3-4 minutes , stir occasionally .
• Preferably do not add salt to the dish as the stock and sauces are high on salt content. 
• Remove from flame and garnish it with sliced green chilly .
• Cook the rice with one cup of water , lid the vessel and boil until cooked .
• Add the Schezwan sauce before serving the rice.

1

FRENCH TOASTS WITH PLUM COMPOTE

French toasts are extremely easy to cook and you can experiment as much with the flavours ,  can be done both savoury and sweet , this morning I was craving a bit of sugar , so had this plated up . This recipe is my favourite because of the emotional connect i share with it , I  learnt how to make them  about three  years back when i was still in college  being instructed by my grandmother over the phone as I woke up home sick and in about barely a minute I was happy and smiling digging in into these yummies .

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE TOASTS :

• Slices of Bread (Any kind of bread can be used , preferably the last of bread loaf , they're called the bread edges , or if you want to go absolutely authentic , use stale bread.)
• One Egg Per Three slices of bread 
• 8 Tbsp of milk per egg 
• 1 Tbsp Honey or Powdered Sugar 

FOR THE COMPOTE:

• 2 Plums chopped clumsily or the way you like it 
• 4 Tbsp of Sugar 
• 4tbsp Water 

METHOD:

• Beat the egg, milk and honey together in a flat pan or shallow dish .
• Dip the bread on both sides in this mixture 
• Butter the pan or use a non stick if you are health conscious and want to avoid butter 
• Cook the bread for about 1 minute on each side or until you get a Golden brown colour 
• THE COMPOTE : This is probably the most most mechanical step of the recipe , just put the fruit sugar and water together in sauce pan and cook for about 5 minutes , until its slightly thick and the fruit is cooked through .
• Dust some powdered sugar on the toasts and its ready to be served . 

0

CHOCOLATE MUD CAKE : KLADDKAKA

Kladdkaka or the chocolate mud cake as we know it commonly is originally a dessert from Sweden , The cake is unique in its way for its texture that is warm and melts in your mouth , its gooey and airy at the same time , the palate is very close to that of a brownie but instead of being dense its light with as much flavour and relished in Sweden , warm with whipped cream or ice cream .
With this extremly easy to do recipe you can enjoy this Swedish treat at home.

INGREDIENTS :

ALL YOU NEED IS :

• 3 Eggs
• 3/4th Cup of milk (180 ml)
• 200 gms Dark Chocolate 
• 2/3rd cup Cocoa Powder ( 80 gms ), sifted 
• 2 cups Flour (Maida) (300gms) , sifted 
• 1 1/3 Cups Brown Sugar (230 gms)
• 375 gms Butter 
• 1/2 Tsp Baking powder 

METHOD:

• Pre-Heat the oven at 160 degree Celsius.
• Melt the chocolate over simmering water or a double boiler.
• In the mean while your chocolate melts , use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl , for about 8-10 minutes or until it has a creamy appearnce if you don't have an electric beater whisk it vigorously for about 15 minutes  or until creamy .
• Break the eggs and mix well about 3 minutes , 7 minutes if using a whisk.
• Use a  spatula or fork to fold in the flour , cocoa , chocolate and baking powder ( TIP: avoiding putting all the ingredients at once , i mixed them in 4 parts , putting little each time ) DO NOT USE THE ELECTRIC BEATER FOR THIS STEP 
• Pour in the milk and stir 
• Your mixture will look like a mousse , now in a greased 8" tin spoon in your mixture and cook it for 1 1/4 hours or until cooked when tested with a skewer it should come clean .
• Cool in the tin for about 45-50 minutes and transfer onto wire rack.

GARNISHING :

There are various way to garnish a mud cake , also you can use different flavours that compliment chocolate . the easiest way is to sprinkle cocoa powder using a sieve . 

You can even top it with a layer of Nutella or chocolate ganache or cinnamon butter cream ,  recipes of the same coming soon .

0

SPINACH AND MUSHROOM PIE : OVERCOMING THE PASTRY HORROR

 Pastry is one of the trickiest aspects of baking , it is known for giving a tough time even to professional bakers , let alone us amateurs . But with a positive mindset and perseverance it was more of an experience than a challenge to me . Follow this recipe and get over the fear of  pastry .

INGREDIENTS :

FOR THE PASTRY :

• 200 gms flour (maida ) , for multigrain option take 100 gms of multigrain flour and 100 gems of flour (maida) 
• 200 gms of cold butter 
• ice-cold water just enough to mix in the ingredients and give it a dough consistency 

FOR THE FILLING: 

• 1 Bundle of spinach leaves
• 15 Button Mushrooms 
• 100 ml Milk 
• 200 ml Cream ( small tetra pack of amul fresh cream )
• 2 free range eggs 
• 4 cubes of Cheese Cubes 

METHOD:

• Preheat the Oven at 250 Degrees Celcius
• Grease 3 small pie dishes or 1 regular sized pie dish.( TIP: if you are making it for the first time i would advise you to make small pies as rolling out the dough for a big pie dish is slightly tricky )

PASTRY DOUGH 

• In a medium sized bowl break the cold butter with finger tips 
• Slowly add in the flour in parts , i usually do it in 2 parts , and use your finger tips to mix the four and butter together , the mixture will be dry and flaky resembling crumbs .
• Add in water enough to give the consistency of a dough ( i usually put in 8-10 spoons depending on the texture )
• Knead the dough for about 3-5 minutes , form a ball and wrap it in cling film , refrigerate for about 1.5 hours .
• Take out the dough , sprinkle some dry flour on a flat surface and roll the dough to the size of the pie dish (this is the trickiest part of the dish as the dough breaks , to avoid that i advise you flatten the dough with your fingers and use the rolling pin first horizontally , once its thin enough and it can't be flattened any more in that direction , flatten it vertically , avoid using a lot of force on the edges , as the dough might break , use a knife to lift up your pastry from the most secure looking edge of your rolled out dough and use your both hands to delicately support the pastry and transfer it to the pie dish, if you are not able to do it once try it again the first time i tried i had to go over 9 times :) 
• Cover the dough with baking paper put some kidney beans (rajma) or any pulse in the dish over the paper and place it in the pre- heated oven and cook for about 7minutes 

This is how your pastry would look like 

FILLING:

• In a sauce pan , add a teaspoon of cooking oil , allow it to heat and add the chopped spinach leaves and lid it for 2 minutes , as the spinach leaves change colour and are shrivelled up , they are ready 
• Chop the mushrooms length- wise along with the stem and sauté them with a a pitch of salt and pepper TIP: (don't crowd the mushrooms while cooking )
  

• In a mixing bowl , whisk the egg, cream and milk and grate 2 cubes of cheese in the mixture .

ASSEMBLING THE PIE :

Assembled and ready to Bake

• After removing the pastry from the oven , ( continuing from the last step of the pastry dough ), let it cool for about 5-7 minutes until your filling is being prepared 
• Place the spinach and mushroom in the pastry , and pour in the liquid mixture , it should fill up till more than 3/4th of the pie (Tip: avoid over filling it till the brim )
• Grate the remaining 2 cubes of cheese over the pie , for garnishing 
• Bake the Pie for 40 Minutes Or until set .

THE FINISHED PIE , THE PASTRY HAS A NICE GOLDEN BROWN COLOUR AND THE FILLING IS PERFECTLY SET . SERVE IT WARM WITH TABASCO SAUCE TO ADD A ZING TO ITS FLAVOURS

0

Monday's with a sweet treat : The perfect chocolate brownie

                  EASY TO DO CHOCOLATE BROWNIES TO BEAT THE MONDAY BLUES

Brownies taste so good that the impression it leaves is one that of  a complex time consuming , probably difficult to make dessert , that's an absolute misconception , these yummy treats are the easiest to bake and are a good idea to serve and have it as a mid day stress busting bite to restore balance to the busy bustling day . Brownies also have a larger shelf life span as compared to other desserts , stored properly wrapped in cling film and refrigerated a batch can last you two weeks or even more and enjoyed whenever with a cup of warm/cold milk or a dollop of  ice cream.

LET'S GET STARTED WITH HOW TO MAKE THESE :

INGREDIENTS 

You'll need :

• 250 gms Butter 
• 200 gms Dark chocolate 
• 360 gms Sugar ( powder it using a food processor )
• 65 gms Flour (Maida)
• 80 gms Cocoa Powder 
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 3-4 Free range eggs if too small 4 would be better for perfect consistency 
• 50 gms of almonds/ hazelnuts/ walnuts ( optional for desired variation) 

Method:

• Pre-heat oven at 180 degrees Celcius and line a baking tray with butter paper and keep aside
• Sift all the dry ingredients in a big mixing bowl

• Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl and keep aside .
• Chop the chocolate , use a knife , work on the edges of the chocolate applying pressure from the palm else break it into medium sized pieces .
• Over a Double boiler ( choose two vessels one larger than the other , pour water into the bigger vessel and place the smaller vessel on simmering water ), melt the butter and chocolate together , until you get a runny mixture .
• Mix in the dry ingredients in the chocolate mixture in 3 parts , and whisk until it gets a lumpy appearance and all ingredients are mixed well about 2-3 minutes.
• Add in the whisked eggs to this mixture , and whisk for another 3-4 minutes until you get a smooth batter ( it will be a thick batter , so don't get nervous ) , you can even use an electric beater.
• Pour the batter into the lined tray and bake for 25 minutes , check the brownies with a skewer , the brownies are moist in the centre so its not necessary for the skewer to come out absolutely clean . If too moist bake it for another 2-3 minutes 
• Before you cut your chunks , let the brownie cool for atleast an hour to 1.5 hours , else ,being moist and gooey , it breaks . 

The batter has a lustre and you can garnish it with almonds / walnuts / hazelnuts and about 50gms of any nut can be added to the mixture also for the desired variation .

Goes perfectly well with a cup of warm vanilla milk.

0