tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11925176522653822962024-02-07T13:32:02.340-05:00Slurp, Chomp, Yumm!Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-44100008725729671832013-04-30T00:04:00.002-04:002013-05-29T11:22:49.934-04:00Black Forest Gateaux!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Last few months have been very busy for us. We moved to our new place :D, Mohan's parents had visited us, Mohan's cousins visited us, many of our friends visited and we have been busy settling into our new place.</div>
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Apart from that last few months many cakes were baked. One such cake was this Black Forest Gateaux!(My favorite when I was in India). Baked by Mohan (Gasp!) for me on my birthday (Double gasp!). It was the most awesome birthday gift- I had the cake and ate it too! Plus I got to boss around Mohan while "teaching" him how to make this cake and he had to listen just this once!</div>
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This again made an appearance when I made this for a friend of ours. He is a big fan of pac-man and I had long promised him a birthday cake and a pac-man cake . He happened to be in town for his birthday this year so I made him a pac-man birthday cake! :D</div>
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<b>Genoise Au Chocolat/Chocolate sponge cake</b></div>
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3 tbsp <a href="http://slurpchompyumm.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-to-make-ghee-basics.html" target="_blank">Clarified Beurre Noisette</a></div>
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1/3rd cup Unsweetened cocoa, dutch- processed</div>
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1/4 cup Water, Boiling hot</div>
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1 tsp Vanilla Extract</div>
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5 Eggs, Large</div>
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1/2 cup Sugar</div>
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3/4th cup Sifted Cake Flour</div>
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<li>Preheat oven to 350 F</li>
<li>line 2, 8 inch pans with parchment paper. Grease the side of pan with butter or a baking spray.</li>
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<li>Warm the <i>beurre noisette </i>until almost hot a(110 F- 120 F) and keep warm.</li>
<li>In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and the boiling hot water so that the cocoa has completely dissolved and there are no lumps.</li>
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<li>In the bowl of a standing mixer add the eggs and sugar. Set over a pan of simmering water and whisk till it reaches 110 F.</li>
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<li>Using the whisk attachment in you stand mixer, whisk the mixture on high speed till it triples in volume. Take around 5 minutes, longer if you use a hand beater.</li>
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<li>Remove 2 cups of the egg mixture and whisk into the cocoa mixture till smooth.</li>
<li>Sift the flour over remaining egg mixture and fold it in gently but quickly with a rubber spatula or a slotted skimmer until the flour has disappeared</li>
<li><i>Alternate: </i><br />
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<li><i>Take out 2 cups of egg mixture and whisk into the cocoa mixture till smooth, and sift half the flour into the cocoa mixture and using a rubber spatula fold in. Sift the rest of the flour into the egg mixture directly. </i>I have had trouble with folding when I was a novice. I improvised a bit with the current method and that helped retain the volume. This recipe has no leavening agent so the loss of volume could result in a disk that can be used like a frisbee!<i> </i>only heavier<i> . </i></li>
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<li>Fold in the cocoa mixture until almost incorporated. Don't worry if you see some white streaks.</li>
<li>Fold in the beurre noisette in 2 batches using a large whisk or a rubber spatula just until incorporated.</li>
<li>Pour immediately into the prepared pans and bake for 12-18 minutes or until the cake shrinks from the sides of the cake. Try not to open the oven door too much as it could make the cake fall .</li>
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<li>Once done, Loosen the sides of the cake with a metal spatula( I use plastic knife I don't want to scratch my nonstick pans)</li>
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<li>Unmold at once onto a lightly greased cooling rack. Re invert to cool. trim the bottom and top crusts when ready to complete the cake.</li>
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<b>Syrup:</b></div>
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1/4th cup + 1.5 tsp Sugar</div>
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1/2 cup Water</div>
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1 -2 tbsp Spiced rum</div>
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<li>In a small saucepan with a tight-fitting lid bring the sugar and water to a rolling boil, stirring constantly.</li>
<li>Cover immediately, Remove from the heat. Allow to cool completely</li>
<li>Stir in the liqueur. Set aside till needed.</li>
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<b>Filling :</b></div>
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Cherries - 1/2 cup chopped up ( I used candied maraschino cherries)</div>
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<b>Whipped Cream Frosting:</b></div>
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1.5 cups Heavy whipping cream, cold</div>
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1/3rd cup Granulated sugar</div>
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<li>Chill the mixing bowl and the whisk attachment in the freezer for atleast 30 minutes.</li>
<li>Add the whipping cream to the mixer bowl and whisk on low speed till frothy.</li>
<li>Gradually add the sugar and whisk on high speed till it forms stiff peaks. </li>
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<b>Garnish:</b></div>
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Cherries - whole, chopped up and as much or as less you need. Let your imagination run wild</div>
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Chocolate shavings - pretty much like the cherries you can have them in what ever shape or size and as much or as little as you please.</div>
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<b>Assembly:</b></div>
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<li>Place one cake on a cake board. Sprinkle half the syrup over the cake.</li>
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<li>Spread almost 3/4th cup of the whipped cream evenly over the bottom layer. Spread the chopped cherries over the whipped cream</li>
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<li>Top with second layer. Soak with the remaining syrup. Spread the remaining frosting on top and sides of the cake.</li>
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<li>Cover the sides of the cake with chocolate shavings ( I got lazy and just blitzed the chocolate in my food processor)</li>
<li>Decorate with cherries on top.</li>
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<li>Now comes the toughest part. Let the cake soak in for 3-4 hours minimum. The longer it soaks the better your cake will taste!</li>
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Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-89184879289606554282012-10-24T22:45:00.000-04:002013-03-08T19:48:53.613-05:00How to make Ghee/ Clarified butter/ Beurre noisette/ Brown Butter - Basics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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With navrathri getting over, following closely is Diwali! Diwali can mean only one thing SWEETS! To make sweets we need a very key ingredient.... Ghee. Ghee is a staple in every Indian household's pantry. We use it on a daily basis to do <i>tadkas</i> for dishes, use it to make sweets, use a nice dollop on hot <i>rotis / </i>rice<i> </i>or<i> </i>eat by the spoonful!<i> </i>And off late brown butter seems to be the latest trend in the baking world. So let us go on to make some ghee and recipes that use ghee will follow ...<br />
<br />
<i> <u>Ingredients & Tools needed:</u></i><br />
<br />
Butter - 1 Lb,Unsalted, use the best butter you can get your hands on<br />
A tall heavy bottomed sauce pan - nonstick works for me<br />
A stainless steel tea filter - I tried using plastic once and it resulted in disaster<br />
A clean glass jar<br />
<br />
<i>Procedure:</i><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Chop the butter in 1 inch pieces. Place the pieces of butter in the pan you will be using to make the ghee in. Set over the counter top till the butter comes to room temperature. </li>
<li>Keep the glass jar with the stainless steel tea filter over its mouth</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That chotu container was added to my collection thanks to M's grandma!!</td></tr>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Once the butter has come to room temperature set over the stove and keep on low-medium heat, uncovered.</li>
<li>The butter will melt and once all the butter has melted you will notice a white bubbling foam with a crackling sound. Don't worry this only means that the butter is boiling/ Cooking. Basically what is happening is that the water in the butter is getting expelled. Do not stir it with a spatula</li>
</ul>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>You will notice that gradually the intensity of the crackling comes down.</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've moved some of the foam to show you the color of the ghee at this stage.</td></tr>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li> The white foam slowly will develop brown specs</li>
</ul>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Once the crackling stops be very careful. Turn the heat lower and just allow the ghee to be over heat for just less than a minute. There are different schools of thought on this. Some people like to take it off the heat as soon as the crackling stops. <i>In my house my mom makes a slightly browned ghee, that is very aromatic and flavorful. And that is pretty much the brown butter that is called for in recipes.</i></li>
</ul>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At this stage this is the color of the Ghee.</td></tr>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Remove of the heat and pour the boiling hot ghee over the stainless steel filter. Once a friend and I made ghee at her house and she used the plastic variety for straining tea and like geniuses we pour the hot ghee over it and it just melted! what a waste of ghee and a perfectly good filter!!</li>
</ul>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The brown stuff is tasty but extremely unhealthy! </li>
<li>Let the ghee cool down and then you can close it with a tight lid.Ghee has a long shelf life if you avoid contamination. I have a small container that I use to fill ghee as and when I need from the big bottle just to avoid any water going into it or some food particle accidentally falling into it while serving or cooking.</li>
</ul>
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There is a very fine line between perfectly browned butter and burnt butter so from the start to the finish be around your ghee do not wander away trying to multitask! (I've learnt my lesson very well!!!!)</div>
Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-20779198687806741742012-10-15T21:48:00.000-04:002012-10-15T21:48:45.819-04:00Mango - Pista Kulfi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This is a special post as my blog completed 1 year a <strike>few months </strike> several months ago, and what was I doing for so long? I went to India for a relaxing 2 month vacation! I had a great holiday. Attended 2 weddings<br />
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My adorable nephew turned one, and I HAD to bake a cake and decorated with homemade fondant,<br />
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Had a bakers night out with my dear friend <a href="http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Mads</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTA9lhH8mk4ElnDa7Y49lY5z8VxVbYpQwiPtz1qmFOopoa5d6feZRhzDqdTxeQ9YiNkAwAcDzIaQviRs7qgGsJb9EKP20pY2q4tXYKUKFBiZa2YsU2VGCuDI6Qml_gPazdfTIkZzQvUdlO/s1600/mango+kulfi1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTA9lhH8mk4ElnDa7Y49lY5z8VxVbYpQwiPtz1qmFOopoa5d6feZRhzDqdTxeQ9YiNkAwAcDzIaQviRs7qgGsJb9EKP20pY2q4tXYKUKFBiZa2YsU2VGCuDI6Qml_gPazdfTIkZzQvUdlO/s320/mango+kulfi1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mads & I made 50 cupcake toppers and the main cake in the time we had left from a lot of chitchat and fun!</td></tr>
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Went to my native village and had an awesome time!,<br />
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Went to Coonoor stayed with M's cousin and his family and also re-lived some wonderful memories from my childhood,<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHcDr_GvTyZ5VzcWKjBK0NhLRhrpeORYIJgl00TTC7KPZcbYLPJzYab38uEgfFMmW-baAdPclBr4YzxHYSjs9bcZzjxYYa3ugq4cxXFMgcp3RH7LF4raENCalUADchyphenhyphendtuJCc8mYEVVQ2V/s1600/mango+kulfi2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHcDr_GvTyZ5VzcWKjBK0NhLRhrpeORYIJgl00TTC7KPZcbYLPJzYab38uEgfFMmW-baAdPclBr4YzxHYSjs9bcZzjxYYa3ugq4cxXFMgcp3RH7LF4raENCalUADchyphenhyphendtuJCc8mYEVVQ2V/s320/mango+kulfi2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left: The house where my aunt lived for some 20 years before she moved , Right bottom: M's cousin's family and our family.</td></tr>
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And of course stuffed myself with so much food (made by in-laws & mom mostly!) I felt like a beached walrus most of the times!<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Sorry no pictures here! All the food was eaten very promptly...</i></div>
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It is better late than never. A special occasion deserves a special treat and I can't possibly think of anything more apt than mango! It is <strike>summer here in the US</strike> spring in Australia and some other parts of the world * feeling extremely sheepish!*. In India Mangoes start making their appearance from early March. Though those are very sour and not the best variety, its just the calm before the storm. The only thing (not really the only thing!) I miss about India is the sea of golden-yellow, during summers. The only reason I used to look forward the the horrible, sweaty and stuffy summers in Chennai was the mangoes. Heaven!!!! Truly the king of fruits. Though we get tinned mango puree all through year here, I still prefer the countless varieties of mangoes we get in India. Coincidentally the area where my native place is, is called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periyakulam" target="_blank">Mango City</a>. The major supply of mangoes for Tamil Nadu comes from this region. As you can imagine, the wonderful two month summer vacations consisted of abundant supply of magoes from our farms. Apart from mangoes, unlimited supply of coconut water and the world's most awesome organic milk straight from the cow.(My granddad has a mini cow shed right across our house). Sigh! Such were my childhood vacations. Well, as you might have guessed already, my brother hated mangoes and their smell. If it were upto me I would use mangoes instead of perfume, body wash, pillow, mattress etc. He didn't like mangoes, that's his loss and my gain. I did not have to share any.<br />
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Recently for a get together with a some friends I decided to make mango kulfi, I had a tin of mango and<a href="http://slurpchompyumm.blogspot.com/2011/10/rose-water-and-pistachio-cupcakes.html" target="_blank"> a lot of pistachios </a>sitting in my pantry. Also, because I got a set of kulfi moulds along with a funky stand. Ever since I got back from India I have been wanting to make it and with the weather being so terrible right now... seems like the perfect time to cool off with mango kulfi + I have been drooling at my very dear friend <a href="http://chefinyou.com/" target="_blank">DK's</a> Mango kulfi since the day she posted it. I made some changes with an addition of a surprise ingredient. This was a super simple recipe and the recipe contains ingredients that are there in you kitchen mostly.<br />
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P.S - Will sell husband for mangoes!<br />
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<i>Recipe Adapted from <a href="http://chefinyou.com/2010/05/mango-kulfi-recipe/" target="_blank">ChefInYou</a></i><br />
<i>( I doubled the recipe, since it had to serve 10-12 people)</i><br />
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Ingredients:<br />
5 cups Whole milk<br />
1/2 cup Milk powder<br />
1 cup Condensed milk + more to eat of the tin!<br />
1/2 cup Sugar ( you can reduce the quantity if you like it less sweeter)<br />
2 slices Bread, cut into small pieces & crumbs removed<br />
2 cups Mango puree<br />
Pistachios, skinned and chopped<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>In a heavy bottomed pan heat the milk. Boil it on low heat so it reduces a bit.</li>
<li>In a wide bowl place the cut bread pieces. Add enough milk to soak the bread pieces. </li>
<li>Process the soaked bread in a blender.</li>
<li>Once the milk has thickened a bit, add the milk powder, condensed milk,the processed bread and sugar. Give it a mild boil so it all comes together. Take off heat and set aside</li>
<li>Allow it to cool to room temperature.</li>
<li>Add the mango puree and mix it together.</li>
<li>Add the Pistachios and mix well so it spreads evenly.</li>
<li>Pour into moulds. and freeze overnight. Set it on the counter for 5 minutes before serving.</li>
</ul>
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<i>Since I had only 6 moulds. I filled 6 moulds and the rest I poured into a 8x8 Inch square pan. That made it easy for every one to make a serving size of their choice. Everyone loved the kulfi so much that every one had a second serving. I have made DK's original recipe before and the addition of the bread definitely helped the texture of the kulfi. It was much softer to bite into. And I loved the addtion of pistachios, it was a lovely contrast and pistachios reminded me of the traditional kesar-pista kulfi.</i><br />
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Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-7287284311332412182012-04-16T01:42:00.000-04:002012-05-06T18:44:20.934-04:00Boondi Ladoo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Tamil new years is observed around the 13th-14th of April every year, it is based on the Tamil Calendar. The Tamil calendar is based on the classical Hindu solar calendar also used in Assam, Bengal, Kerala, Manipur, Nepal, Orissa, Rajasthan and Punjab.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 19px;"> I could easily say that my</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> most favorite festival is the Tamil New Years, simply because it is not a religious function and there are no restrictions on the menu. Meaning cook and eat, no elaborate pooja has to be performed before digging into the food! The menu for this festival includes: something sweet (ofcourse!!!), something bitter, something sour and something spicy/salty. Giving one an explosion of flavors! Workout your tongue people...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> This year for New Years I decided to post Boondi Ladoo. I love Boondi Ladoo very much. Problem: I started remembering the occasions my mom would make Boondi Ladoo and started craving them. I learnt that without the <a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&biw=1226&bih=739&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=NjZPGt5ogwAlRM:&imgrefurl=http://letusallcook.blogspot.com/2008/09/kara-boondhi-quick-and-easy-snack.html&docid=pznAkYhLzmMggM&imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1J7rOapAcAnL-w-hUhP5g3XNpiwqfvaMJL0Z2egO_OPYa5L1kD_zskT2fj4Mx80VeJDr8YKisKW0TS-OnRMN_3Ahw11rzk3VdUzssbkSbgL9iPge7lVn-_6XRW0pDcIYmArbDk6q9-_Vd/s320/boondhi%252B3.jpg&w=320&h=240&ei=_wuLT7TmKMrx0gHUiKi3CQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=488&vpy=419&dur=1960&hovh=192&hovw=256&tx=123&ty=148&sig=116976765455616774361&page=1&tbnh=128&tbnw=173&start=0&ndsp=29&ved=1t:429,r:24,s:0,i:121" target="_blank">Boondi Ladle</a> I had to depend on the store brought Ladoos.Call me a Ladoo snob, but the ones available at our Indian store don't seem to satisfy my cravings. Lucky for me, I have a LGA (Local Guardian Aunty), who has all the kitchen tools and gadgets one could ever imagine needed for Indian cooking. She lent it to me, I could say leased infinitely, because I still have not returned it to her ! Aunty next time I meet you I'll make you a lot of ladoos to make up for it :D. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ingredients:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For the syrup:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sugar - 1.5 cups</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Water - 3/4th cup</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Food colouring - Kesar colour, a pinch</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Elaichi powder - 1/4th tsp</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Nutmeg powder - 1/4th tsp</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Clove powder - 1/4th tsp</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For the Boondi:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Besan - 1 cup, divided in 2 batches</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Rice flour - 1 tsp, divided in 2 batches</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oil - for frying the boondi
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For tempering:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ghee - 1 tbsp</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Raisins</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Cashews</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Cloves (Optional , if you added the clove powder to the syrup you can skip this)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sugar candy - You can even add this. I didn't have any on hand so did not add.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>To make the syrup:</u> </span></div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Soak Sugar and water for a few minutes. Boil the mixture till you get 1 string consistency. Approximately 215F- 235F on a candy thermometer. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Add the kesar colour, elaichi powder, nutmeg powder, and clove powder( if adding)</span></li>
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<u><span style="font-family: inherit;">To make the Boondi:</span></u></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Heat the oil in a kadai.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Take half the besan & rice flour. Mix together.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Make a batter adding water. The batter should not be too thick. It should be a bit thin.( It should be thinner than dosa batter).<i> <b>If the batter soaks too much it drinks up more oil and your ladoo will be more oily.</b></i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Over the Kadai hold the Boondi ladle. If you dont have a boondi ladle you can use a wide, slotted ladle. Pour about 1/4th cup of the batter and tap the ladle so that small balls fall into the hot oil.<b> <i>Just tap. DO not rub the surface of the ladle with a spoon or your hands. This will cause the boondi to be flat and not round.</i></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Take out the boondi from the kadai when it is almost 80% cooked.<i> <b>If it cooks 100% the boondi will get crisp and you will not be able to make balls out of it.</b></i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Put the boondi into the syrup. Continue to make boondis till you run out of the batter.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the side, heat up some ghee and roast the raisns, cashew and cloves( If adding)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Add the raisin & nut mixture to the boondi-syrup mixture.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gently mix. Cover it and set aside for 2-3 hours. Then make ladoos out of the soaked Boondis by squeezing between you plams.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">If the syrup is too hard and you are not able to make balls or if the balls don't hold up, sprinkle hot water and proceed. The ladoos may seem to be a bit wet in that case, but it will dry up and hold together well.</span></li>
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</div>Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-6400520598107843492012-03-09T10:31:00.000-05:002012-03-09T10:31:27.071-05:00Pattani Piratal/ Spiced Peas Curry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This post is dedicated to one of my best friends, who is almost family to me - Pavithra. She was introduced to me by another family friend and used to live in the same community as I do. Her husband(Big V) was pretty easy going and her son(Small V, looks exactly like his dad! Sorry Pavithra... I had to mention it. ) was the cutest and most adorable 9 month old I had ever met, and who eventually became best friends with my husband and I.We all connected and got along very well. We used to be over at each other's place constantly for dinners, lunches, or even just simply just hanging out. As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end... It was true in our case. She moved back to India with her family :(. Fortunately for me the story doesn't end there. She and her family are moving back to the US, though not the same area as us...still something is better than nothing! We can meet up for holidays, etc. YAY! I am so psyched.<i> (I think I am even more excited than even her!!!!!!!)</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pavithra & I</td></tr>
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She is a fantastic cook and has re-introduced me to certain dishes which in the past I have hated, but now I love to bits. One such dish was Appam. I am not a big fan of any dish with obvious coconut in it. Pavithra made appam with this pattani piratal. O.M.G!!!! The piratal was so good that I even liked the appam, and now it is a regular feature in our dinner table. She loves cooking so much, that Small V gets very inspired. He used to "cook" for us using his toy kitchen, his specials were avacado sambar and cabbage and capsicum rasam! I can go on and on about Small V for days so let me stop with this. <i>Do watch out this space for more Pavithra specials!</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Future Sanjeev Kapoor making his signature dishes: Avacado Sambar & Cabbage Rasam!</td></tr>
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<i>This dish is a Chettinadu special and is a bit spicy & takes a bit of oil. So reserve this dish for one of those days when you want to indulge.</i><br />
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Ingredients:<br />
Peas - 2 cups, fresh or frozen but thawed<br />
Onion - 2 medium sized, finely chopped<br />
Tomatoes - 4 medium sized, finely chopped<br />
Oil - 5 tbsp , sounds like a lot but do not try to cut it as it is needed in this dish.<br />
Curry leaves- few<br />
Cilantro - finely chopped<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The color combination is so bright!</td></tr>
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For the Masala:<br />
Coconut - 3 tbsp<br />
Ginger - 1" piece<br />
Garlic - 5 cloves<br />
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp<br />
Cinammon - 1/2" piece<br />
Cloves - 4-5<br />
Green chillies - 1-2 optional<br />
Dhaniya - 1.5 tsp<br />
Chilly Powder - 2.5 tsp(lesser if you wish)<br />
Turmeric - 1 tsp<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Process all the ingredients listed for the masala, into a fine paste. Try to avoid adding too much water while grinding.</li>
<li>In a kadai heat some oil. Add the onions and sautee with a dash of salt, till it becomes translucent. The salt helps in cooking the onions faster.</li>
<li>To the onions, add the tomatoes, peas, and the ground masala, and salt required for the dish.</li>
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<li>At about half way through add the curry leaves.</li>
<li>The mixture will start coming together into a tight ball eventually. The tomatoes will "dissolve" and the water from the mixture will go and the mixture will start becoming a ball.</li>
<li>Once done turn off heat and garnish with cilantro.</li>
<li>This dish goes with chappatis, rice,dosa,idiyappam, and my current favorite appam!</li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That one is for you Pavithra!</td></tr>
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<i>I got this wonderful recipe for appams from <a href="http://kitchenmishmash.blogspot.com/2008/08/paalappam-cleopatra-of-kerala-cuisine.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</i></div>
<br /></div>Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-90604186449277030682012-02-29T23:38:00.000-05:002012-03-04T20:42:47.492-05:00Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%;">Hey! Hope you remember me still! I know have not blogged in over a month.My bad :(. With the winter being very weird (One day it is like a nice spring day, another day it is freezing cold), I wasn't feeling too great. I am back to normal now and hopefully back to regular blogging :). </span><br />
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I get very excited for birthday's and anniversaries as I can come up with a cake to make for celebrating. I make other big plans, but based on my history of sucking at planning events, I make sure I engage in cake making for these celebrations! For my husband's first birthday, after we got married, I had planned to make a huge cake and have friends over. Then came the anti-climax - we were snowed in a week before D-Day. We couldn't even remove the car out of our apartment complex. So a day before his birthday, I sent him to the grocery store and made him buy the ingredients for his own birthday cake! <span style="font-size: 100%;">You see, we are very engaged together in all activities :P.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">It was a yummy</span><a href="http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/2010/12/16/tales-from-your-kitchen-mridubhashinis-chocolate-truffle-cake/" style="font-size: 100%;" target="_blank"> chocolate truffle cake</a><span style="font-size: 100%;"> reward for a grocery trip well done and for being the b'day baby</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">. </span></div>
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The endless possibilities makes picking a cake I want to make very hard and it becomes a research project before I settle on one and keep it a secret. So, Mohan plays the guess the cake game for me. He tries to observe the products I am looking up online, or at the store. What books I am refering to and which pages have a lot of bookmarks. I go on tangents during my research, so he cannot really get much out of snooping around :P. </div>
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For year two I made <a href="http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/pineapple-fresh-cream-pastry/" target="_blank">Madhuri's Pineapple Pastry Cake</a>. I wanted to finish making the cake and keep it in my friend's fridge so hubby wont see it. I managed to keep it a secret till the eve of his birthday. The husband decided to take off from work earlier than usual randomly, and the party started early with good friends of ours coming over! I was still frosting the cake in the side and was <span style="font-size: 100%;">in shock!! So much for my secret cake plans and so much for random unplanned surprizes!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"> For my Hubby's birthday this year, I managed to keep it a secret till the cake cutting! (Almost!). Mohan and his friend dug into the cake and other agents of </span>inebriation. They<span style="font-size: 100%;"> loved the cake very much. It had white "chocolate" in it. Thanks to being married to me, I don't even show my husband the light of white chocolate. I love dark chocolate and believe that white "chocolate" is not even chocolate! That being said, I was very surprised with the outcome of this cake. I enjoyed it inspite of it having white "chocolate". This cake was very fun to make, but it was a very lengthy process and I made it over a day. It was so worth it. Every bite was a peek into heaven. So let me not keep you in suspense and show you how I made it!</span></span></div>
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Recipe source: America's test kitchen TV show</div>
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<u>For the Flourless Chocolate Cake Layer:</u></div>
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7 oz Bittersweet chocolate, chopped</div>
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6 tbsp Butter, Unsalted and cut into pieces</div>
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4 Eggs, separated</div>
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1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract</div>
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1/3rd cup Brown Sugar, packed</div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Preheat oven to 325 F. Prepare a spring form pan with butter.</li>
<li>Over a double boiler, melt the butter and chocolate. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.</li>
<li>Whisk in the egg yolks, one by one to the chocolate mixture</li>
<li>Add the vanilla extract and whisk it.</li>
<li>In the bowl of a standing mixer or a mixing bowl, add the egg whites and salt. Using the whisk attachment , beat on medium speed until frothy.(takes about 30 seconds)</li>
<li>Add the half brown sugar to the egg whites and beat until incorporated. Add the rest of the brown sugar and continue to beat at high speed until stiff peaks form.</li>
<li>Take about 1/3rd of the egg white mixture and whisk it into the chocolate mixture.</li>
<li>Add the rest of the egg white mixture and gently fold it in, ensuring you do not deflate it too much.</li>
<li>Pour into the greased pan and bake for 13- 18 minutes. The sides should be firm, but the center should be soft but cooked. It took me 15 minutes.</li>
<li>Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cook down completely. Do not take the cake out of the pan.</li>
</ul>
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<u style="font-size: 100%;">For the Middle layer:</u></div>
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2 tbsp Dutch processed cocoa</div>
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5 tbsp Hot water</div>
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7 oz Bittersweet chocolate, chopped</div>
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1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream</div>
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1 tbsp sugar</div>
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1/8th tsp salt</div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Whisk together cocoa powder and hot water and set aside to cool</li>
<li>Melt the chocolate over a double boiler whisk until smooth. Take off heat and set aside to cool</li>
<li>In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachement, whip the cream until forthy for 20 seconds.</li>
<li>Add sugar and salt and beat on medium until it starts to thicken.</li>
<li>Beat on high speed until the cream holds soft peaks.</li>
<li>Add the cocoa mixture and 1/3 rd of the whipped cream and whisk it in till incorporated.</li>
<li>Take the rest of the whipped cream mixture and fold it in gently with a spatula. Until no streaks remain.</li>
<li>Pour the entire mixture into the springform pan over the cooled cake</li>
<li>Smooth the top with an offset spatula. Tap the pan on the counter gently to remove any large air bubbles.</li>
<li>Using a damp tissue wipe the side of the pan to clean the drips.</li>
<li>Set it in the refrigerator for atleast 15 minutes.</li>
</ul>
For the top layer:</div>
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3/4 tsp Gelatin, powdered ( I used vegetarian gelatin)</div>
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1 tbsp Water</div>
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6 oz White Chocolate, chopped</div>
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1 1/2 cups of heavy cream</div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>In a small bowl sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Set aside for atleast 5 minutes for it to soften.</li>
<li>Place the chocolate in a medium bowl.</li>
<li>In a medium saucepan heat 1/2 cup cream until it boils. Add the gelatin misture and whisk it until it dissolves.</li>
<li>Pour over the chocolate and let it stand for a minute. Whisk the mixture until smooth</li>
<li>In the bowl of you standing mixer add the cream and using whisk attachment beat on low speed till it thickens a bit.</li>
<li>Increase to high and whip till it forms soft peaks.</li>
<li>Whisk in about 1/3rd of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture and fold in the rest of the whipped cream gently with a rubber spatula. </li>
<li>Pour the mixture on top of the second layer. Level it with an offset spatula.</li>
<li>Tap the pan very gently to remove any air bubbles.</li>
<li>Set in the fridge for atleast 3 hours. If you want to cover with a plastic wrap ensure the wrap wont touch the surface of the cake.</li>
<li>Run a knife in the side of the pan to loosen the mousse. Remove the cake pan from the spring form.</li>
<li>Decorate with chocolate curls. Well, mine look like grated chocolate rather than curls :P</li>
<li>Enjoy yourself!!!</li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">I am usually a white chocolate hater, but this recipe was really good. The gelatin ensured that the white chocolate din't set hard and the cream reduced the sweetness of the white chocolate. It was very subtle. Don't tell me I didn't warn you, This is a very rich cake so even a cake crazy person such as myself could not eat a full slice in one sitting. (Shocking isn't it???)</span></div>
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</div>Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-76721540672303512342011-12-29T15:52:00.000-05:002012-01-06T14:58:01.948-05:00Blueberry And Lavender Cream Pie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Color,color what color do you choose? Violet, will be my answer. As kids we all have our favourite color. The mauve shades were my favorite specially purple and violet. I just took a trip down the memory lane and I remembered a game based on colors I used to play with my friends when I was a kid. Also, this is the beginning of a new year, so a lot of you will be reminiscing the past year, past decade etc. I'll leave you to that, while we at <a href="http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/free-spirit-bloggers/" target="_blank">FSB</a> unveil a colorful theme to represent a colorful past year and for an even more colorful new year which we all are looking forward to.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The theme for this month was picked by me. This season of FSB saw all kinds of themes so it was tough for me to pick something that was not done before. I put on my thinking cap and landed on <b><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: purple;">C</span><span style="background-color: #073763;">O</span><span style="background-color: cyan;">L</span></span><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: lime;">O</span><span style="background-color: yellow;">R</span><span style="background-color: orange;">S</span><span style="background-color: red;">!</span><span style="background-color: #cccccc;">!</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"> </span></b>and colors </span>instantly <span style="font-family: inherit;"> remind me of the rainbow. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The rainbow has 7 colors and there are 8 of us. So I decided to add White. After all white is the resulting color when all the colors of the rainbow are fused together. The colors were randomly picked by the free- sprirters. I got the color violet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The rules were simple:</span><br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The food must be naturally colored. The dish(s) could be sweet or savory and of any course, without using or minimally using food coloring.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The dish can be of a certain color by itself or it can be representative of the flavor in it. For example, I made <a href="http://slurpchompyumm.blogspot.com/2011/10/rose-water-and-pistachio-cupcakes.html" target="_blank">pistachio rose water cupcakes</a>. I added 3-4 tbsp of rose water in all but I had to add pink coloring. So usage of food coloring in such situations is OK. You can also get creative and avoid it completely, that would be ideal.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of-course you can add garnishes and accessorize you final dish, but the focus should be on the color assigned. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> T</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">his got all us, the free-spiriters busy thinking and cooking. M</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">y first thoughts obviously went to desserts (my favorite course of the meal!). I decided to use some ingredient I have never used before or make a dish I have never made before. I zeroed in on </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Lavender</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, and a pie. I thought it was going to be <i>as</i></span><i style="font-family: inherit;"> easy as a pie. </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Boy! was I wrong. The whole process was so </span>lengthy<span style="font-family: inherit;">! </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The result however, was very delicious. </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Lavender</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> was a new flavor for me, the taste was very new and refreshing.</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Recipe for the pie filling adapted from <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/dessert/recipe-blueberry-lavender-cream-pie-048583" target="_blank">here</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Recipe for the crust adapted from<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Baking-Illustrated-Cooks-Magazine-Editors/dp/0936184752" target="_blank"> here</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>For the Pie Crust:</b><i> Makes one 9 inch pie crust. Make it 1 day before you make the pie.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 1/4 cups of All purpose flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 tsp Salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 Tbsp Sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3 Tbsp Vegetable shortening, chilled</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">4 Tbsp Butter -cold, unsalted and cut into 1/4th inch pieces</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">4-5 Tbsp Ice water</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Stir together flour,salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Add the shortening and beat until the mixture resembles coarse sand. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Scatter butter over the flour mixture and cut butter into flour using a pastry cutter or you can use your finger tips, until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse crumbs. The butter bits should not be bigger than small peas.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sprinkle 4 tbsp of ice water over the mixture. Using a silicone spatula mix into a sticky dough.If the dough does not come together sprinkle upto 1 tbsp of ice water more.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Flatten the dough into a 4 -inch disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate atleast an hour, or upto 2 days before rolling.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Remove the dough from the refrigerator( if refrigerated for more than an hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable). </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Roll the dough into a 12 inch circle on a lightly floured surface (I even floured my rolling pin).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Transfer the dough into the pie plate by rolling the dough around the rolling pin and unrolling over the pan. Working around the circumference of the pie plate, ease the dough into the pan corners by gently lifting the edge of the dough with one hand while pressing into the pan bottom with the other hand. Trim the edges.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Refrigerate the dough-lined pie plate until firm about 40 minutes, then freeze until very cold , about 20 minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Adjust an oven rack to lower middle position and heat to 375 F. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Remove the pie plate from the freezer, press a 12 inch sheet of foil inside the pie shell. Distribute the pie weights evenly.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bake leaving the foil and weights in place, until the dough looks dry and is light brown in color. Takes about 23-30 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and pie weights. If you want a partially baked crust bake for another 5-6 minutes. If you want a fully baked crust continue baking for about 12 minutes till golden brown.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Transfer to a wire rack.</span></li>
</ul>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">To make the filling:</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">For the lavender cream:</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 Cups Heavy cream</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 Cup Half and half or Milk</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3 Tbsp Dried Lavender buds (I would add lesser next time)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">For the cooked blueberries:</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 Tbsp Butter</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">12 oz Blueberries (I used frozen)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 Tbsp Cornstarch</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">For the Custard:</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3 Whole eggs</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3 Egg yolks</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 Cup Sugar</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 Tsp Vanilla extract</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pinch of salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>To make the lavender cream: </i>(If you are making the pie too, make this cream before you start baking the pie.)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pre-heat the oven to 325 F.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Warm the cream and milk together until it starts to simmer. Turn of heat and stir in the lavender buds. Allow to steep for 30 minutes</span></li>
</ul>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">To make the cooked blueberries:</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Set a colander over a bowl.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">In a large skillet over medium heat add the butter. When the butter is fully melted and starts foaming, add the blueberries.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cook until the blueberries are soft and much of the juice has run out. After about 3-5 minutes turn off heat and pour into the colander. Set aside the drained blueberries.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mix cornstarch with the blueberry juice and set aside.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">To make the Custard:</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Whisk the eggs, egg yolks,sugar and vanilla lightly and set aside</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Strain the Cream into a large saucepan and discard the lavender.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Whisk in the blueberry- cornstarch mixture. Bring to simmer over medium heat. The color looks gorgeous!!!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">When the mixture boils and starts to thicken lightly, remove from heat.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Whisk in a little of the cream mixture into the egg mixture to temper it. Add this mixture to the cream mixture and whisk vigorously. It will look curdled and broken at first but it will come together into a satiny, glossy and a very violet mixture!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Stir in half the reserved blueberries.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pour the mixture into the pre-baked pie shell and bake for 30 minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">after 30 minutes sprinkle the rest of the blueberries on top. Bake for another 15 minutes, until the center is wobbly but firm. and the crust is nice and golden.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Take out and rest for 15 minutes before serving. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The pie was very tasty! Specially with a scoop of icecream on the side. The one thing I would keep in mind the next time is reduce the quantity of lavender as I felt it was very overpowering, it was so strong that I didn't taste any blueberry! Other than that I felt lavender was a very unique flavor it had some cardamom notes to it and a soapy feeling(<i>I guess that's just me, I got a new body wash that is made of pure lavender and it smelt exactly like the packet of dried lavender buds!!!</i>). Also If you have a very dark colored vanilla extract use a lighter colored or colorless vanilla extract, because that kind of made my violet a bit grey-ish.</span></div>
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Do check whats happening with the other colors of the rainbow! <a href="http://www.loveandlentil.com/" target="_blank">Anu</a>, <a href="http://www.somesalttotaste.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Deepti</a>-Orange, <a href="http://chefinyou.com/" target="_blank">DK</a>- Yellow , <a href="http://lata-raja.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Lataji</a> - Red, <a href="http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Mads</a>, <a href="http://www.cookingandme.com/" target="_blank">Nags</a>- Blue, and <a href="http://www.cookingwithsiri.com/" target="_blank">Siri</a> - Green</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1zup-1WoKBvSdKMqVDI9riFdffeBEaTGsu6uNPvCEU5omag7ve24Fselx6-dVY133rEDm4ukg_LHCesDgM5ccuLlfe-jQ4dFqjXjXvX-_y5pbg2U5AaByJw65a_7xEcTnIdSKQ056a7h/s1600/aIMG_2709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1zup-1WoKBvSdKMqVDI9riFdffeBEaTGsu6uNPvCEU5omag7ve24Fselx6-dVY133rEDm4ukg_LHCesDgM5ccuLlfe-jQ4dFqjXjXvX-_y5pbg2U5AaByJw65a_7xEcTnIdSKQ056a7h/s320/aIMG_2709.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pie anyone?</td></tr>
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</div>Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-4782974817380982992011-12-21T13:24:00.001-05:002011-12-21T22:02:57.225-05:00Brown Eyed Susan Cookies/ Chocolate Thumbprints (Eggless)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I am back to blogging after almost a month! Has been a crazy moth with a lot of baking and cooking. To top it off, with Christmas and the New Year peeking from the corner, I have lots more baking left to do... Not that I am complaining!<br />
I made these Brown Eyed Susan cookies last year when I went to meet my<i> best-est</i> friend after 2 years and I made it now for a "Cookie Exchange" event in my husband's office. <i>The only difference is that I made them look neater this year. </i>These cookies had a buttery <i>melt-in-your-mouth</i> texture and the dark chocolate in the middle was absolutely wicked! These were a big hit at the Cookie Exchange and I am happy!<br />
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Recipe source: <a href="http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/05/18/chocolate-thumbprints/" target="_blank">BrowneyedBaker</a><br />
Ingredients:<br />
<i>For the Cookies : Makes 2 dozen</i><br />
8 Tbsp Butter ,(unsalted) room temperature<br />
1/2 Cup Confectioners Sugar (Sifted)<br />
1/4 Tsp Salt<br />
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract<br />
1 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour (Sifted)<br />
1-2 Tbsp Milk (Only if neccesary)<br />
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<i>For the Center</i><br />
2 oz Chocolate, Chopped (any variety you like, I used bittersweet)<br />
2 tbsp Butter, Unsalted<br />
3/4th Tsp Corn Syrup ( I forgot to add this!!!)<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease your cookie sheet and set aside. You can use parchment paper or a baking mat too.</li>
<li>In the bowl of your mixer fitted with paddle attachment, Beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until fluffy. you can do this with your hand or with a powerful hand mixer if you don't have a stand mixer.</li>
<li>Add the flour gradually, in small portions.</li>
<li>Add the milk only if you feel the dough is really dry. The dough will look crumbly but when you make a ball it will hold together well.</li>
<li>Scoop out heaping teaspoons of dough to form a dough ball and place on the baking sheet. I placed them about 1 inch away from each other.</li>
<li>This step was not there in the original recipe- I very lightly flattened the cookie dough before putting it into the oven. Bake in the middle rack for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and make an indentation with your finger (Ouch!) or the back of a small spoon or something (I used the nicely rounded bottom of my icecream scoop). This might lightly crack the sides of the cookie, but that is totally OK. Also the cookies will be very soft at this stage so be careful not to disfigure them like I did the first time!</li>
<li>Put the cookies back into the oven and bake for another 8 minutes. Once baked, place on a cooling rack to cool.</li>
<li>Melt the chocolate, butter and corn syrup over a double boiler or microwave (at 50% power at 30 seconds interval), until smooth and shiny. You can spoon the melted chocolate into the indentations or you can pipe it in. I used a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wilton-6-Ounce-Melting-Decorating-Squeeze/dp/B0000VMBF6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324486136&sr=8-1" target="_blank">squeezy bottle</a> it made my life much easier and I got neater cookies. Allow the chocolate to set a bit before you can eat it all up! While you wait for the chocolate to set on the cookie, you can eat up the leftover melted chocolate (unless you already did that)!</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOkofvTsGF5xbt5T9DWiUeOHdahF4nUAkhxnrQ3o87IKIHEG6gvGVm2W3FIRERc3FSw9DdX1zuojM67GaOHHyJivgOexVdxQcAXI6pKGYprj4pdEnLa4NlE28qolMSoAuZvnL4_45kBiew/s1600/aIMG_2633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOkofvTsGF5xbt5T9DWiUeOHdahF4nUAkhxnrQ3o87IKIHEG6gvGVm2W3FIRERc3FSw9DdX1zuojM67GaOHHyJivgOexVdxQcAXI6pKGYprj4pdEnLa4NlE28qolMSoAuZvnL4_45kBiew/s400/aIMG_2633.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><b>Compliments to the photographer - My Husband, who has clicked these pictures and some others in previous posts. He took such wonderful pictures that I did not even have to edit them! So much time saved, and reminded me of how crappy my pictures turn out on first take! :-/. I have a loooooooong way to go *sigh*</b></i></div>Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-10354331555228061872011-11-16T21:30:00.000-05:002012-05-03T19:07:32.630-04:00Bombay Chutney / Kadalamaav Gothsu/ Besan Chutney<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It beats me why this dish is called a "<i>chutney</i>" it's more like a <a href="http://slurpchompyumm.blogspot.com/2011/09/hotel-saravana-bhavan-inspired-14-idly.html" target="_blank"><i>sambar</i></a> in my opinion, but that's irrelevant here. This is a great accompaniment for <i>Idly</i> and <i>Dosa</i> and it is a very easy and quick side dish to make. Back home in India, my mom used to make this for me every time she made idly/dosa. Though I was a big fan of this recipe, you might have guessed by now, my brother did not like it. This one time my parents were out and I was going to take care of dinner for my brother and I. I made <i>idlis </i>and this <i>chutney/gothsu</i> to go with it and my brother was to have it with the <a href="http://chefinyou.com/2009/05/spiced-chutney-powder/" target="_blank"><i>molaga podi </i></a>(<i>a spicy powder made of roasted lentils and is mixed with oil and had as an accompaniment with idly dosa). </i>So we sat down for dinner and I guess my brother was bored with his molaga podi and asked if he can taste some of . I was like "if you had told me sooner I had to share this with you, I would have made more." He just wanted to taste a little bit. Minutes later, he had finished the entire side dish and when my mom got back he accused her of never making this for him! My mom was like "yeah that's exactly how it is - I deprived you of this dish when clearly you always have liked it!"<br />
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Then a couple of years back, after getting married, I made this for my hubby for breakfast once. My husband is a big foodie as I've mentioned before. He generally doesn't hate anything but he didn't like this! I was upset initially and I got around eating it later - it tasted like feet!!! I<i>n my defense, I made this for breakfast and I am no morning person.</i> No wonder he hated it! I got around making it again for dinner this other time and he was like "errr... do you have coconut chutney instead?" I tasted it and it seemed fine. After that I learnt that he dislikes any dish that has <i>besan (</i>gram flour<i>)</i> in it, even if it is well hidden. So, I forgot about this dish for almost a year till one day when I was on the phone with my mother and she was making this <i>chutney</i> for dinner. I got reminded of this favorite I had not made in a while! So, I decided to make it again for myself and make some coconut chutney for the husband. I was enjoying myself and reeling in the memories of life in Chennai when I was interrupted by a "can I try some?" This was like deja-vu! I even gave him the same reply I gave my brother many years back! He tastes it, and he was like "this is not so bad, its actually pretty good", and he ended up finishing the whole thing. I don't think I did anything different other than that the very first time I made this for him, I screwed up the dish. I guess the man with his falter-less devotion for coconut chutney finally got bored of the plain looks and got attracted to my yellow-red-green tinged side. With that, I had successfully converted two people into liking this dish... Yay! </div>
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All this talk of "conversion" because the theme for <a href="http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/free-spirit-bloggers/" target="_blank">FSB</a> this time around was chosen by <a href="http://www.loveandlentil.com/" target="_blank">Anu</a>, who wanted us to make something with an ingredient that we have not cooked with ever or avoid because someone in the house doesn't like it. I picked an ingredient that the husband doesn't like because his list of things he doesn't like is much shorter than mine and he is not fussy. My endless list of dislikes was hard to pick from and I am pretty stubborn in not eating what I don't like.</div>
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<i><u>Ingredients:</u></i></div>
<div>
Onion - 1 Medium/Small ( you can skip it if you are avoiding onions)</div>
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Tomato- 1 Medium</div>
<div>
Chilly powder - 1/2 - 1 Tsp (as per your taste)</div>
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Salt - As per taste</div>
<div>
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Tsp</div>
<div>
Corriander Leaves/ Cilantro - a generous portion</div>
<div>
Hing - a generous pinch</div>
<div>
Besan - 2-3 Tbsps</div>
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Tadka:</div>
<div>
Oil - 1 tsp<br />
Urad Dal - 1 Tsp</div>
<div>
Mustard seeds<br />
Green Chillies -1-2 slit (I don't like the pieces coming in my mouth!)</div>
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Curry leaves </div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>In a sauce pan, add some oil and once hot enough temper with mustard seeds, urad dal, chillies and curry leaves.</li>
<li>Sautee the onions till translucent. Add the tomato and sautee for a min.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH-2r2W4SEubAakNOKlvgwEnEqfvMG02faQPIRthGTgOc5d7wopBD8pwmme8h-Mkca0X2KV2DNfR2MSbHKLPACGHm-i9LwcVk64Fsg0dtxLjX_GN6rNKDhT0g8BsGWPNsPSPBWBQH_pe28/s1600/aIMG_2573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH-2r2W4SEubAakNOKlvgwEnEqfvMG02faQPIRthGTgOc5d7wopBD8pwmme8h-Mkca0X2KV2DNfR2MSbHKLPACGHm-i9LwcVk64Fsg0dtxLjX_GN6rNKDhT0g8BsGWPNsPSPBWBQH_pe28/s320/aIMG_2573.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<li>After lowering the heat, add the besan that has been mixed in 1- 1.5 cups water. Ensure that the paste it is smooth and free of lumps prior to adding. Add the rest of the ingredients, and increase the temperature of the stove to medium heat.</li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTx7vR9l6N7glIaVVX3OAu0MIJH6GMHM_Fa7dH5eypLyK8Eg6_bt7LL7a7O7SL_d0EB5GV_3iMX3qhbHdSXqt_Vupj6kv2D3ahz085MCAwij3b18oc8YdqB__AZFtNsD5TE-TMX4HxmcV/s1600/aIMG_2563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTx7vR9l6N7glIaVVX3OAu0MIJH6GMHM_Fa7dH5eypLyK8Eg6_bt7LL7a7O7SL_d0EB5GV_3iMX3qhbHdSXqt_Vupj6kv2D3ahz085MCAwij3b18oc8YdqB__AZFtNsD5TE-TMX4HxmcV/s320/aIMG_2563.JPG" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It looks pretty!<br />
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</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1_fB3CF6vq5zSFQXG8fSR1J_CnLowcHd0t1ASWJ1IT0zeR-DB7wih-UHMAFZOzttd3Cilaqwoj-ak_3LudNFErIfiVCoDbY-dTqcJGp8lJkGZ6fD3_ddjS7f8XMZ6bXHMmsdtTrTH46r/s1600/aIMG_2576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1_fB3CF6vq5zSFQXG8fSR1J_CnLowcHd0t1ASWJ1IT0zeR-DB7wih-UHMAFZOzttd3Cilaqwoj-ak_3LudNFErIfiVCoDbY-dTqcJGp8lJkGZ6fD3_ddjS7f8XMZ6bXHMmsdtTrTH46r/s320/aIMG_2576.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But a terrible idea ! It was so difficult to mix it into a smooth paste!</td></tr>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>This mixture will thicken. You do not want the mixture to be thick like a paste, nor should it be runny. If the mixture doesn't thicken, you can always add some more<i> besan,</i> and if the mixture is too thick, you can add some water - so no sweat! </li>
</ul>
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<li>Take it off the stove and garnish with cilantro/ corriander leaves.</li>
<li>Serve hot with <i>Idly</i>, </li>
</ul>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Or <i>Dosas</i></li>
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<li>Or both!!!</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_dAw19YtdbrMdeRF2atyYYyNwEXMXD8deN3v2yN3ConMwoF0T260qiUBGDomNC5K5xNpFsT0XDBebE_1Kj4cQqrv2ZOH-RBwwVuhtB5WroWMnY5wh0F2War-BUGT2QtJFBvGupUn4wej/s1600/aIMG_2609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_dAw19YtdbrMdeRF2atyYYyNwEXMXD8deN3v2yN3ConMwoF0T260qiUBGDomNC5K5xNpFsT0XDBebE_1Kj4cQqrv2ZOH-RBwwVuhtB5WroWMnY5wh0F2War-BUGT2QtJFBvGupUn4wej/s400/aIMG_2609.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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This recipe is super easy and super quick! I personally like the onions and the tomatoes to be a bit chunky. Try it once and you will be converted into liking it too :). Do check out what my other <a href="http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/free-spirit-bloggers/" target="_blank">FSB</a> buddies are cooking up in their kitchens: <a href="http://www.loveandlentil.com/" target="_blank">Anu</a>, <a href="http://www.somesalttotaste.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Deepti</a>, <a href="http://chefinyou.com/" target="_blank">DK</a>, <a href="http://lata-raja.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Lata</a>, <a href="http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Madhuri</a>, <a href="http://www.cookingandme.com/" target="_blank">Nags</a>, <a href="http://www.cookingwithsiri.com/" target="_blank">Siri</a></div>
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</div>Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-81501958442591376412011-10-20T23:18:00.002-04:002011-10-21T23:40:27.635-04:00Rose Water And Pistachio Cupcakes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I would like to start this post by declaring that my new favorite flavors are Pistachios and Rose Water... besides chocolate of-course! Off-late I have been noticing a lot of pistachio or rosewater based desserts around me. I guess it was in my sub-conscience when I chose to try this recipe. How it really came together is a longer story and an interconnection of other sub-stories... hehe. Also, thanks to my husband for the awesome photos!</div>
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About a year back a friend of mine was going through a book called "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Cupcakes-Take-Over-World/dp/1569242739">Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World</a>" and she was extremely excited about the Rosewater, Pistachio with Cardamom Cupcakes recipe. And she wanted to bake it for some special occasion that was coming up,but her being a medical student, as you can imagine, she couldn't get to it and I forgot about it.<br />
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I went to India for 2 months this summer, and on my way back, I picked up a tonne of pistachios from Dubai. Ever since I got back I have been on the quest to make some desserts based off pistachios (If you've not already noticed the pattern - I generally tend to buy many ingredients before knowing what i'll make with them.. hoarder tendencies!!)<br />
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Recently a friend had a baby shower. Both she & her hubby are not big fans of chocolate (yes, I am friends with such kinds of people too!! :P). I went on a mission to make some exotic flavored cake/cupcake which they would like. It all pieced together and I decided to make these beauties. It was the best decision ever! That's it for the saga.. now over to the recipe before you kick me...<br />
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P.S - I decided to graduate to a double digit number of posts on this blog, to mark the milestone of crossing 5000 hits! </div>
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P.P.S - I would also like to wish my dear friend Madhuri's <a href="http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/">Cook-curry Nook</a> a super happy birthday :D and here is hoping for many more to come :)- Cheers!<br />
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Now over to the recipe. Really!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3J8Y7GU5kJBhffE6Hvyhl_zaRtBcwhe9cHXDwAVjPskMi-OkIxkXpBJFHGP897VKbnNFYpOKKNzFWoVYfuhNDKJdN1UIFVvK9_2L0rIqlM4HsuqXiftlvwW9KUccB5wlkyf5QoR4TW7kv/s1600/cIMG_2114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3J8Y7GU5kJBhffE6Hvyhl_zaRtBcwhe9cHXDwAVjPskMi-OkIxkXpBJFHGP897VKbnNFYpOKKNzFWoVYfuhNDKJdN1UIFVvK9_2L0rIqlM4HsuqXiftlvwW9KUccB5wlkyf5QoR4TW7kv/s320/cIMG_2114.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Ingredients:</i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Recipe is adapted from <a href="http://thegoudalife.tumblr.com/post/4243562963/weddings-and-cupcakes-rosewater-pistachio-cupcakes#c">here</a></span></i><br />
<i></i><br />
<i>1 Cup All Purpose Flour</i><br />
<i>1/2 Cup Sugar</i><br />
<i>1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder</i><br />
<i>1/8 th Tsp Salt</i><br />
<i>3 Tbsp Finely Ground Pistachios ( you can grind it in a food processor)</i><br />
<i>3 Tbsp Butter, Unsalted at room temperature</i><br />
<i>1/2 Cup Milk</i><br />
<i>1 Large Egg, at room temperature</i><br />
<i>1/4 th Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract</i><br />
<i>2 Tbsp Rosewater (Make it 1 Tbsp If you do not want the flavor to be very obvious, I added 2 Tbsp and it was just perfect )</i><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Preheat oven to 325 F and line a muffin pan with liners or grease it with some butter.</li>
<li>In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, pistachio powder.</li>
<li>Add butter and beat on medium till the mixture is sandy in texture.</li>
<li>In a medium mixing bowl whisk together milk, egg, vanilla extract, and rose water.</li>
<li>Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients slowly. Once all of it has been added, beat on medium speed for some 30 seconds till well incorporated.</li>
<li>Scoop out the mixture into the muffin pan cavitiestill its 2/3rd full. A note here: I might have filled it to more than 2/3rds, so this recipe yielded only 10 cupcakes.</li>
<li>Bake for 20-25 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in comes out clean.</li>
<li>Cool on a cooling rack completely before frosting.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<i>For the Frosting: </i></div>
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Recipe Source : My own</span></i><br />
<i>1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream,cold</i><br />
<i>2 Tbsp Granulated sugar</i><br />
<i>2 Tbsp Confectioners Sugar</i><br />
<i>1 Tsp Rose Water</i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>2-3 Tbsp Finely Ground Pistachios</i></span></i><br />
<i>Pink Food Coloring (Optional)</i><br />
<i></i><br />
<i>For garnish: (Optional)</i><br />
<i>2-3 Tbsp of roughly chopped pistachios or you could even use whole pistachios</i><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Chill the bowl of the stand mixer and the whisk. </li>
<li>Add the cream and beat on low till the cream is frothy. Add the granulated sugar and beat on medium high until the cream forms light peaks.</li>
<li>Add the confectioners sugar, and the rosewater and beat on medium high until the mixture forms stiff peaks.</li>
<li>Gently fold in the ground pistachios, but ensure it is mixed evenly.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">You are now ready to frost your cupcakes. You can pipe it onto them or just use an offset spatula and spread the frosting. If you have any left from all the "tasting" ;).... you can garnish with chopped pistachios or whole pistachios.</li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665777976496708546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUUeRPrx3tEh2AOTkntXKVXBY4Ui8ADKKfjQ-WKs9tQtrDubvndrxbOHSYYWcCNsDf1XCJVbEoiF70r4Nrr34TrU3gPKcx8VFZQrA3INM6ca7MDZuy9qMDVhlR5SWPHkXzuch3Hj4DHTm/s320/aIMG_2115.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 214px;" /></span></div>
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The cupcakes were delicious and were moist and had lovely texture, thanks to the ground pistachio. This cupcake had a delicate flavor to it and were a big hit at my friend's baby shower. As I declared earlier, Rose Water and Pistachios are my new favorites. Not only the flavor, I also thoroughly enjoyed working with these two ingredients!!</div>
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</div>Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-62072696716472963292011-10-13T14:31:00.003-04:002011-10-13T23:08:43.369-04:00Glazed Lemon-Blueberry Cream Scones (Eggless)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">Every time I go to a bakery, cafe or a coffee shop I always end up getting something chocolate to munch along with <a href="http://slurpchompyumm.blogspot.com/2011/10/latte-starbucks-style.html">my cuppa chai</a>. If I got a second pick I would go for scones. This one time I decided to skip the chocolate (blashpemy! :O) and picked up the scones. It was definitely not chocolate, but it took me to another planet of bliss! Ever since then I have been looking for an opportunity to make them at home. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">The Opportunity:At work, my husband is part of a "Breakfast Club" where team members take turns bringing breakfast on Fridays, and it was his turn this one week. So, this recurring event, is a perfect opportunity for me to try making some new type of breakfast items. I will share some of those other recipes later. Also, for <a href="http://somesalttotaste.blogspot.com/2011/10/cafe-casa-round-up-free-spirit-bloggers.html">Cafe Casa</a>, we had to come up with a side eat to go with our beverage. So, everything had lined up perfectly for making scones. On hind sight, the breakfast club was unnecessary, I could have easily polished off the entire batch of scones without any help ;)<br /><br />I made the traditional English scones, which are less sweeter than the American variety. The english variety is usually had with toppings such as jam/jelly to add sweetness. The American variety on the the other hand, is eaten as is, and the sweetness is hence baked in.<br /><br />Recipe source: <a href="http://www.cooksillustrated.com/bookstore/detail.asp?PID=247">Baking Illustrated</a><br /><br /><i>Ingredients:</i><br /><i>For Scones:</i><br /><i>2 Cups All-Purpose Flour</i><br /><i>1 Tbsp Baking Powder</i><br /><i>3 Tbsp Sugar</i><br /><i>1/2 Tsp Salt</i><br /><i>5 Tbsp Cold, Unsalted Butter, cut into small pieces</i><br /><i>1/2 cup Blueberries, Fresh (I used a frozen variety for the first batch and it was a disaster! not the taste, but the appearance of it! They looked like Smurf scones!!! I recommend buying fresh blueberries if you can)</i><br /><i>1 Cup Heavy Cream, Cold</i><br /><i>1 Tsp Lemon Zest</i><br /><i></i><br /><i>For Glaze:(Optional)</i><br /><i>1 Tbsp Heavy Cream</i><br /><i>1 Tbsp Sugar</i></span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">Preheat the over to 425 F/ 218- 220 C</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">In a large mixing bowl whisk the flour, baking powder,sugar and salt. Else, process in your food processor with quick pulses.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">Add the lemon zest</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">If making by hand, use 2 knives, a pastry blender, or your finger tips, and quickly cut in the butter till the mixture resembles coarse meal with a few skightly larger lumps.If using a food processor , distribute the butter evenly over the dry ingredients and process with twelve 1-second pulses.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">Add the blueberries and quickly, but gently, mix in.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"> Stir in heavy cream with rubber spatula or fork until the dough begins to form, this takes about 30 secons- 1 minute</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;">Place the dough on a floured surface and very gently knead it, until it comes together into a rough and slightly sticky ball.</span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><i>Remember, all the steps above once the mixing starts, needs to be done very quickly and moved to the cake pan for baking in a relatively cold state to avoid the scones ending up being hard and flat. Another alternative is to make the dough and quickly transferred to the refrigerator for 1-2 hrs before baking. </i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small; line-height: 20px;">Press the dough into a 8-inch cake pan, then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small; line-height: 20px;">With a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into 8 wedges.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small; line-height: 20px;">Place the wedges on an un-greased baking sheet.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small; line-height: 20px;">Brush the tops of the scones with heavy cream and sprinkling them with sugar just before baking them.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small; line-height: 20px;">Bake until the scone tips are light brown - some 12 to 15 minutes.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: small; line-height: 20px;">Cool on a cooling rack for atleast 10 minutes, then watch them vanish in record time!</span></span></li>
</ul>
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</div>Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-10868800392998734632011-10-01T01:55:00.002-04:002011-10-05T11:06:50.855-04:00Latte - Starbucks style! (Chai Tea Latte)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Coffee. Hmm mm? It's probably the most consumed beverage in the world! Too bad I don't contribute to that consumption.... I am a tea drinker. I do not like the smell of coffee and I have never had coffee in my entire life. By never, I mean never had coffee as a beverage. I have had coffee bite (coffee bite is a coffee flavored toffee available in India) when I was a kid, and I really did not like it unlike most kids. Coffee drinkers give me the <i>she-must-be-out-of-her-mind</i> look when I mention my preference of tea over coffee. Why this rant about coffee?... This month's theme for <a href="http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/free-spirit-bloggers/">FSB</a> is -Cafe Casa, picked by <a href="http://somesalttotaste.blogspot.com/">Deepti</a>. We basically had to concoct our favorite cafe drink along with a side eat. Who doesn't love to munch stuff along with their favorite beverage??? Since I am not a coffee drinker, I chose to to figure out making Chai Tea Latte, inspired by Starbucks.<br />
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<span id="goog_497454292"></span><span id="goog_497454293"></span><br />
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When I first came to the US, I was under the impression that most Americans drink all their tea black, without sugar or milk. This one time at Starbucks I saw "Chai Tea Latte" as an option on the menu and I inquired about it. The Barista described it as a spiced tea <i>with</i> milk. I was super happy and gathered it was like 'Masala Chai' and tried it out. I made sure I got the smallest size which is still the size of the big glass I have milkshake in! It was not anything like the 'Masala Chai' that you make at home, but I liked it.. and ever since, I have been hooked. </div>
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Last year while visiting my cousin and his family, his wife introduced me to "<a href="http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=tazo+chai+tea+concentrate&hl=en&prmd=imvns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&biw=1200&bih=739&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=538451253763177480&sa=X&ei=noqGTvmZFuH00gGekbXWDw&ved=0CKQBEPMCMAg">TAZO Tea Concentrate</a>". Having worked at Starbucks as a manager long back, she explained to me that Starbucks used this to make their Chai Tea Latte. We followed the instructions on the pack (not really!) and it came out quite terrible. It was a struggle trying to get it right and we somehow finished that carton. So, after vaguely recollecting the consistency and flavor of the TAZO concentrate, I decided to make my own Chai Tea Latte this month. Here is the recipe for you, so you can make Starbucks style Chai Tea Latte at home when you crave for it!</div>
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<br />
<i>Ingredients:</i><br />
<i>(Makes 2 small cups of Chai)</i><br />
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<i><br /></i><i>For chai latte concentrate:</i><br />
<i>Water - 1/4 cup</i><br />
<i>Milk - 1/8th - 1/4th cup</i><br />
<i>Sugar - 2 tsp Or add as per your preference. The Starbucks chai is a bit on the sweeter side.</i><br />
<i>Cloves, Whole - 4</i><br />
<i>Cardamom, Whole - 2-3</i><br />
<i>Cinnamon - 1 Inch Piece</i><br />
<i>*Peppercorns - 2-3. Include this if you feel adventurous. I have tried this variant and the results were very good, specially if you have a cold or a sore throat!</i><br />
<i>Tea powder - 1.5 Tsp ( I used the Indian leaf</i><i> variety, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Brooke-Bond-Mahal-ORANGE-PEKOE/dp/B000NGRUQ8">Taj Mahal </a> ) Else you could use 2 regular tea bags.</i><br />
<i></i><br />
Steps:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><i>Pound together the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and peppercorn (if you opted to include it) with a mortal and pestle. Else you could just grind it up in your food processor or even use a hammer or some heavy object to pound it with contents between a folded paper. </i></li>
</ul>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><i>In a small saucepan add the water, milk,sugar and the pounded spices. Allow it to boil. You will notice that the color of the concoction is a pinkish-brown hue. If you feel that the liquid has evaporated, you could add some water. </i></li>
</ul>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><i>Once It boils over turn the flame to the medium, and add the tea powder/ tea bags. </i></li>
</ul>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><i>It is not typically recommended to boil tea, however, since we need to create a concentrate, let the above-mentioned mixture boil for a few seconds. Turn off the heat and set aside.</i></li>
</ul>
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<div>
<i>Other Ingredients/ apparatus needed for assembling the chai latte:</i></div>
<div>
<i>2 coffee mugs</i></div>
<div>
<i>Cold milk - 3/4 cup</i></div>
<div>
<i>A tea strainer</i></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>Coffee Frother Jug</i></span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>Milk Frother/ steamer</i></span></i><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><i>Strain the "Tazo" chai tea latte concentrate into the two cups</i></li>
</ul>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><i>Take the cold milk in a frother jug and steam it using a milk frother (the attachment that typically comes with an Espresso machine) till it reaches some 150 F (slightly hotter than drinking temperature). You will notice that the milk has a very foamy texture. That is what baristas call "Micro Foam". This foam does not become flat. The foam holds up. It is necessary to start with cold milk to get micro foam. </i></li>
</ul>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><i>Slowly pour the foamy milk into to the two cups with the concentrate. While pouring out, gently shake the jug, so that the foam doesn't remain in the jug.</i></li>
</ul>
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<i>Here is a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU1UeGiTXhY&feature=related">video</a> to better explain the frothing and addition of milk.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<i>For those of you who do not have the steamer or you do not want to use a steamer you can have a look at this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Moiw7Vi_Rjw&feature=related">video</a>... A wonderful find by Deepti. </i><br />
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<i>You can also get yourself one of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Aerolatte-005-Milk-Frother-Satin/dp/B0002KZUNK">these</a>. Ikea / World Market have it for 3-4$ - cheap and effective!</i><br />
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<i>See what else is happening at Cafe FSB - <a href="http://www.loveandlentil.com/">Anu</a>, <a href="http://www.somesalttotaste.blogspot.com/">Deepti</a>, <a href="http://chefinyou.com/">DK</a>, <a href="http://lata-raja.blogspot.com/">Lata</a>, <a href="http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/">Mads</a>, <a href="http://www.cookingandme.com/">Nags</a>, and <a href="http://www.cookingwithsiri.com/">Siri</a></i></div>
</div>Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-41967049013893556412011-09-22T11:20:00.000-04:002011-09-22T11:20:11.038-04:00Creamy & Hearty Vegetable Soup<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This recipe is very close to my heart. As you must all be aware by now - I don't eat my veggies very easily! if we had a pet dog.. i'd be the one slipping it my share of veggies under the dining table. This soup is one dish however, where I eat my share of veggies without complaining and even go for a second and a third serving. I had this soup for the first time in one of my close friend's house. This friend's mom is a wonderful cook and she used to cook very healthy and delicious meals for us when we were kids. I have learnt quite a few tricks from her which I use till date. Every time I had food at their place, she used to keep pointing out I don't eat enough veggies. So, this one time I had gone to her house, and for lunch she made this soup and a few other things. I was like <i>"wow! This soup is amazing. It tastes like the creamy tomato soups they serve in the restaurants"</i>. I asked her for the recipe and she was dodging till I finished eating my meal and she listed all the veggies in the soup - beet root (how did I eat a dish that had beetroot in it!), cauliflower with its thick stem!!, beans, peas e.t.c ( I fainted after the first few vegetables and hence stopped listening ).I must say that this soup is one of the best soups I have had till date!.<br />
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This recipe is very simple to execute. Even bachelors without a blender/mixie can make this. And this is a perfect dish to get rid of those leftover vegetables in the fridge, with which you were wondering what to do!<br />
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<i><b>I would like to dedicate this post to my dear friend, Vilasini and her Mom.</b></i><br />
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<i>Before we go to the recipe I'd like to apologise for the crappy pictures!!. I was hungry so I din't pay too much attention to the pictures or recruit my even hungrier husband for the clicks!!. By the time I got to it, it was too late to click more :P, the soup was over by then!</i><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Recipe source: My friend's mom</span></i><br />
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<i>Ingredients:</i><br />
<i>You do not have to chop the vegetables finely or in neat shapes (phew!!!!!). Just roughly chop them.</i><br />
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<i>2-3 Tomatoes</i><br />
<i>1 Medium Onion</i><br />
<i>2 Carrots</i><br />
<i>4-5 Cloves of Garlic (more or less as per taste)</i><br />
<i>2-3 Green Chillies (more or less as per taste)</i><br />
<i>Apart from these you can add any vegetables you like: Beetroot, Cauliflower, Beans, Peas e.t.c. Do not add too fibrous vegetables though! - 1/4th cup of each vegetable.</i><br />
<i>Corn Starch - 1 tsp </i><br />
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<i>Salt to taste</i><br />
<i>Pepper Powder - 1 tsp</i><br />
<i>Chilly Powder (add as needed) - optional</i><br />
<i>Few Sprigs Of Fresh Basil Leaves (even the dried leaves work) - Optional</i><br />
<i>Butter - As generous as you feel ;) - Optional</i><br />
<i>Heavy Cream- Highly recommended!!!, But again, an optional addition.</i><br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>In a pressure cooker pressure cook the vegetables with water in the container. And enough water in the pressure cooker. You do not want a burnt vegetable soup!. Alternately, you can use a large stock pot with a lid to cook the vegetables if you don't have a pressure cooker.</li>
<li>Cook for a good 3-4 whistles. Since we have added an assortment of vegetables here we need to ensure that all the vegetables are cooked. No problem if some of them turn extra mushy. </li>
<li>Once the steaming is over. open the cooker and set the container aside to cool.</li>
<li>Once the vegetable medley has cooled down. Process it in a blender / Mixer.( This is optional, though. You can omit this step if you prefer a chunky soup. In that case you can just mash the steamed vegetables with the back of your spatula or a masher). Do use all the water from the steaming as they contain vital nutrients from the veggies.</li>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Pour this vegetable mixture into a medium- large saucepan. Add salt and chilly powder if you like a mildly spicy soup.</li>
<li>Add the vegetable stock. Allow this to boil over in medium heat. </li>
<li>Add the corn starch dissolved in some water and add to the mixture if you feel the soup is very runny.</li>
<li>Once it has boiled over. turn of heat and Sprinkle some pepper and garnish with fresh basil leaves. </li>
<li>Serve hot with a toast on the side. </li>
<li>Add a small piece of butter or a little bit of cream, if you opted for the ingredient. It certainly heightens the flavor.</li>
</ul>
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<i>Notes:</i></div>
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<i>If you want to make just Creamy Tomato Soup, Skip adding the mixed vegetables and increase the number of tomatoes.</i></div>
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<i>My husband suggested that addition of potatoes would give an even more creamy, smooth texture. I had a soup in some restaurant which contained mashed potatoes in it. That soup was quite delicious! I shall update you with the results the next time I make this soup, and hopefully with better pictures too!</i></div>
</div>Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-89056714608445483322011-09-07T14:52:00.004-04:002012-10-19T17:44:25.214-04:00Hotel Saravana Bhavan Inspired 14 Idly - Sambar (Rice Cakes Soaked in Lentil Sauce)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This month the theme for <a href="http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/free-spirit-bloggers/">Free Spirit Bloggers</a> was picked by <a href="http://www.cookingwithsiri.com/">Siri</a>, We had to recreate that one dish we have had in a restaurant and and relive those moments/ memories, and it had to be a main course.<br />
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My pick was 14 Idly from <a href="http://www.saravanabhavan.com/">Hotel Saravana Bhavan</a> (HSB). It is a dish unique to this restaurant. I have had Sambar-Idly in other Bhavans, but none of them can even hold a candle to HSB's 14 Idly. When ever I go to HSB I order this for sure, apart from some dosa be it in New York City or Chennai!. I am pretty surprised that food in HSB New York tastes just like the one in Chennai! Over the dozen times we have visited NYC, I make it a point to religiously visit HSB like it is a holy shrine. Once we are in the restaurant the rules are short and sweet (maybe not!), <i>DO NOT TOUCH MY 14 IDLY, EVEN IF YOU JUST WANT A PIECE OR 2 TO TASTE. I NEED THE 14 IDLIES</i>, <i>SO GET YOUR OWN and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">I will share </span>everything else.</i> Usually if I order any dish with sambar as the side, the sambar will almost remain at the same level as it was when left on my table. Even after I am done eating! This is one dish where I lick the sambar clean of the oblong bowl that they serve it in.</div>
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I have been on the quest for Saravana Bhavan sambar for a long time now. Thanks to my genius mother, I think I finally nailed it!. Here is the recipe for all of you to lick clean ;).I will come up with a detailed post for making idlies. The proportion of rice and dal is different, plus there are several tips and tricks!</div>
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<i>Ingredients:</i></div>
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<i><u>For Idlies:</u> ( This is a 2-in-1 batter. I use it for Idly and dosa)</i></div>
<div>
<i>Idly rice - 4 Cups</i></div>
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<i>Urad dal - 1 Cup*</i></div>
<div>
<i>Fenugreek seeds - 1 Tsp</i><br />
<i>Toor Dal - 2-3 Tbsps (optional)</i></div>
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<i>Salt </i></div>
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<i>Water - 4 cups</i></div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Soak the rice, fenugreek seeds and toor dal ( if using) for 6-8 hours.</li>
<li>Soak the Urad dal for some 45 mins, seperately.</li>
<li>Grind the Urad dal to a fine soft paste using about 3/4th cup of water. Empty into a big vessel.</li>
<li>In the same grinder/food processor add a little rice mixture and water and start grinding. Gradually add the rest.</li>
<li>Grind to a fine paste. Try not to use more water than the 4 cups mentioned for the entire grinding . Its always better to have a thicker batter and add water as needed than to have a batter thats runny an you need to do a lot of golmal to fix it!!!. Empty in the same container as you did the urad dal batter.**</li>
<li>Add salt about 2 tsp. Mix it with your hand. It is an important step. The "good yeast" in your hands help in fermentation. And result in a fluffy idly.</li>
<li>Set the batter aside overnight, in a warm place. Well this again depends on where you live. In Chennai I remember the batter will ferment in some 4 hrs!!!. I keep my batter in the oven with lights turned on. Sometimes I warm up the oven and keep the batter in. So if you live in a cold place you can try this method.</li>
<li>Once it has fermented. Mix the batter and deflate it. Add water to the batter as you make idly/ dosa as per your requirement. <i>The batter should not be too thick or thin. When you pour it from a ladle it should flow like a ribbon. Always make Idly first before making dosa. The Idlies do not come out fluffy if you make dosa out of the batter first.</i></li>
</ul>
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<i>To make the Idlies:</i></div>
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<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>I make my idlies in the pressure cooker. I am sure you can make it in microwave (I've seen microwave idly plates in India), electric cooker etc. though I have not tried it personally.</li>
<li>Fill up the pan of the cooker with atleast 1 inch water. Use the <a href="http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/is-kitchen/item/vc2102/">stand</a> that comes with the cooker. If not use lesser water. Close the pressure cooker and keep the flame on high. Let a big jet of steam come out. Do not use the cooker weights.</li>
<li>In the meanwhile, oil the cavities of the idly pan(s)and fill it with the batter. Using a small ladle or a big spoon.</li>
<li>Once you get a nice big jet of steam. Reduce the flame wait for a few seconds and open the cooker lid carefully. Place the filled Idly pan(s) into the cooker and close the cooker. And keep the flame on high and again do not use the cooker weights.</li>
<li>Set a kitchen timer for 7- 9 minutes.</li>
<li>Once done. Reduce the flame wait for a few seconds before opening the cooker. And remove from the cooker. To test for doneness stick a knife/spoon/fork in the middle. If it comes out clean its done </li>
<li>This step is optional. You can show the Idly plate under cool running water. This helps in cooling the idlies faster and make it easier to remove it from the plates.</li>
<li>Next step is a must(according to me!!!!) Drizzle some sesame oil on your idly. You can have it with some molagai podi, chutney, or/and sambar, or even Sugar with ghee.... yummmmmmm!!!!</li>
</ul>
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<i>For the 14 Idly Sambar: (This recipe makes a lot of sambar.Well!! you need a lot of sambar to soak you idlies in! )</i><br />
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<i>Ingredients:</i></div>
<div>
<i>Onion - 1 Medium sized,</i><i>( Shallots would be ideal! but I had none :( )</i></div>
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<i>Tomatoes - 3-4 medium (be generous!)</i></div>
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<i>Toor dal - 1/2 cup</i></div>
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<i>Turmeric powder -1 Tsp</i></div>
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<i>Tamrind Paste - 1 Tbsp (I use a brand called tamicon.Its pretty strong)</i></div>
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<i>Sambar Powder - 3-4 tsp (Adjust according to the strength your sambar powder.)</i></div>
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<i>Hing - A generous pinch</i></div>
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<i>Salt to taste</i></div>
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<i>Curry leaves - Divided</i></div>
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<i>Cilantro/ corriander leaves - a handful</i></div>
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<i>Sesame Oil - 1 tsp</i></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i> A handful of vegetables like drumstick, capsicum e.t.c can be used to add to the flavor of the sambar. Do not use too many vegetables though.</i></span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>Milk - 1/2 cup </i></span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i><br /></i></span></i></div>
<div>
<i>For Tempering:</i></div>
<div>
<i>Sesame oil (perferable) - 2 tsp</i></div>
<div>
<i>Mustard Seeds- 1 Tsp</i></div>
<div>
<i>Dry Red Chillies- 1-2 (as per your perference)</i></div>
<div>
<i>Curry leaves </i></div>
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<div>
<i>For Garnish:</i></div>
<div>
<i>Finely Chopped Onion - 1/2 - 1 medium onion (depending on how much you like or hate raw onions. )</i></div>
<div>
<i>Finely Chopped Cilantro/ Corriander leaves- A small bunch (Absolute must)</i></div>
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<i>Ghee - 1/2 - 1 tsp per serving</i></div>
<div>
<i>Sesame Oil - 1/4 - 1/2 tsp per serving </i></div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Pressure cook the toor dal with turmeric and tomatoes. Let it cook for atleast 4-5 whistles. The dal should be really mushy. Also steaming the tomatoes along with the toor dal gives it a different flavor!</li>
<li>In a saucepan add the sesame oil and sauté the onions till translucent.</li>
<li>Add the tamrind paste (dissolved in 1 cup warm water), sambar powder, turmeric powder,hing,salt, corriander leaves, and some curry leaves.</li>
<li>Give it a boil till the raw smell of the powder leaves the mixture.</li>
<li>Add 1 more cup of water and addthe mushy dal- tomato mixture.</li>
<li>Give it a boil.. And in the meanwhile taste it and add salt ,sambar powder or more tamrind paste if needed. This sambar should not be too spicy or tangy. Rather the tang should come from the tomatoes rather than the tamrind.</li>
<li>Add the milk in the end. Do not boil too much after adding it. Yes, this is the secret ingredient in most hotel sambars!</li>
<li>Also the consistency should be slightly watery. And not too thick like the usual sambars.</li>
</ul>
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<i>Assembling:</i><br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>In a bowl place 14 mini idlies. Yes, there should be exactly 14 idlies! It's not called 14 idly for nothing. I'm just kidding you can use as many idlies as you want!</li>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">No prizes for guessing the number of idlies in there! </span></i></div>
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Thanks to my MIL who generously donated this Onlong bowl to me :D.</span></i></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Drizzle some sesame oil. </li>
<li>Pour sambar over the idlies, generously.</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij79PVHbPlNxjl23bgD8klyqHBHPuaiUOZK1Ss3oWMW_PEirEjxHmfj_diTDqfJPhThp9CkyesO7mfwzVf3vCuYbs3Y5OjOyu5W-a4boLAKxx_Dagg7xYV2LK4la7NywCSiYABtyROeG-h/s1600/aIMG_0848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij79PVHbPlNxjl23bgD8klyqHBHPuaiUOZK1Ss3oWMW_PEirEjxHmfj_diTDqfJPhThp9CkyesO7mfwzVf3vCuYbs3Y5OjOyu5W-a4boLAKxx_Dagg7xYV2LK4la7NywCSiYABtyROeG-h/s320/aIMG_0848.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Drizzle some ghee and some more sesame oil. You can omit the ghee and/ or the oil. But I think this gives it the restaurant feel! </li>
<li>Sprinkle some onions and top it off with some finely chopped cilantro/ corriander leaves.</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9h0Uvqp7NWwNs0zwZ9Mf79vv8FsF4El2qUdMYNBQPHkAiP2lt-gu9MYLUecSkCLZtA53VDuT-4Ot6CmeU6dQl4cFIrh5jcYowhg1YRER6f4hhyyy3VuBng4mTp_POQ06-xkDA5hGqMJej/s1600/aIMG_0856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9h0Uvqp7NWwNs0zwZ9Mf79vv8FsF4El2qUdMYNBQPHkAiP2lt-gu9MYLUecSkCLZtA53VDuT-4Ot6CmeU6dQl4cFIrh5jcYowhg1YRER6f4hhyyy3VuBng4mTp_POQ06-xkDA5hGqMJej/s320/aIMG_0856.JPG" width="234" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Enjoy the Idlies as they go in one by one! Its strange, I always count my idlies at HSB everytime I eat there and I've never been lucky enough to get even one idly extra! :(</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkHOcEKWFLLQgO6E5kOpHl1Bv7eOhfABfEZDDsEJzPUJY_53v0o9uiCYFd7_Y1foBiVQpSeyzhUZ3lU7IxZKdO1U5UsDa0jui-EgG2QLSXmJuk6q_nMfZxa36TuuQD5Z50DnWCt6GfuCf/s1600/aIMG_0864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkHOcEKWFLLQgO6E5kOpHl1Bv7eOhfABfEZDDsEJzPUJY_53v0o9uiCYFd7_Y1foBiVQpSeyzhUZ3lU7IxZKdO1U5UsDa0jui-EgG2QLSXmJuk6q_nMfZxa36TuuQD5Z50DnWCt6GfuCf/s320/aIMG_0864.JPG" width="320" /></a></blockquote>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>* If you are using a mixie or food processor to grind the batter, use 1.5 cups of urad dal.</i></span></i></div>
<div>
<i>** It is important to use a large container as the mixture ferments and if it is a small container it will spill over.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i> </i> Do check out what my team-mates :<a href="http://www.loveandlentil.com/">Anu</a>, <a href="http://www.somesalttotaste.blogspot.com/">Deepti</a>, <a href="http://chefinyou.com/">DK</a>, <a href="http://lata-raja.blogspot.com/">Lata</a>, <a href="http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/">Madhuri</a>, <a href="http://www.cookingandme.com/">Nags</a>, and <a href="http://www.cookingwithsiri.com/">Siri</a> are cooking up in their kitchens!</div>
</div>
<div>
<i><u><br /></u></i></div>
</div>
Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-48447101492684876702011-08-17T22:02:00.000-04:002011-08-17T22:02:10.237-04:00Double Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I love almonds!. I love almonds so much that I have a 3 lbs bag of almonds, 1 lb of almond meal (skinned), 1 lb of almond meal (un-skinned), a big jar of almond butter in my pantry, a big bottle of almond oil and I just emptied a carton of almond milk!!!! . I guess that is just obsession.... well, Almonds are pretty healthy too. They are very rich in Vitamin E, B vitamins, </span>fiber<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> and contain bad cholesterol lowering "good" fats. So next time you are looking for a snack when your bored think almonds!. Almond flour is gluten free and low in carbs, so those of you with gluten allergies, or looking for a low carb diet, can replace regular flour with almond flour. Similarly almond milk can be used in place of regular milk if you have lactose intolerance. Even if you are not lactose intolerant it is a healthy option as it is cholesterol free. Let me not bore you all with an even lengthier session of "Why almonds are good" stealing info from Wikipedia.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">About the recipe: As I mentioned earlier I had a big jar of almond butter sitting in my fridge. There is only so much of that one could eat with toast and taking a spoon full of while noticing it every time in the fridge, so I have been on the quest for a good recipe that uses almond butter. After a few weeks of looking at recipes out there I found some I liked. I had been warned by my husband to find excuses to distribute all the yummy goodness rather than leaving them at home for him to hunt down and add to his belly, so I decided to bake up a batch of these cookies to take with us to give out to family and friends we visited this past weekend. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2RoqMeU-l8viBTdlnybw7u412QEQLpIupD_-5ZH22QDiCr1yyzWwoUYR4CRsyMMnAOueD7GnsNq6qTk-9gDvzBPHS4dt76kHSw11NMrVYBh2HKt0dXVIiuG9kMZOZpTrz_FO91DvD7t8u/s1600/aIMG_0163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2RoqMeU-l8viBTdlnybw7u412QEQLpIupD_-5ZH22QDiCr1yyzWwoUYR4CRsyMMnAOueD7GnsNq6qTk-9gDvzBPHS4dt76kHSw11NMrVYBh2HKt0dXVIiuG9kMZOZpTrz_FO91DvD7t8u/s320/aIMG_0163.JPG" width="191" /></a></div>
<b>Ingredients</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><i>recipe adapted from<a href="http://christines-cuisine.blogspot.com/2011/02/almond-butter-cookies.html"> here</a> &<a href="http://aspicyperspective.com/2011/03/almond-butter-chocolate-chunk-cookies.html"> here </a></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 tsp. Baking Powder</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 tsp. Baking Soda</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">3/4 tsp. Salt</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1 Cup Unsalted Butter ( 2 sticks), Room Temperature</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, Packed</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1 Cup Sugar</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1 Cup Creamy Almond Butter, Stirred</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2 Eggs</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1 tbsp. Vanilla Extract</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1 Cup Chopped Almonds</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">3/4th - 1 Cup Chocolate Chip</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU43rt8g47aH1J_0I3QueCLKqVlQw64sHcQGT2WF1pmeNcfPzs0r0DNcm5L3eRjDQROaso8mKhNhNPu7BRN7L52HP3Aadmqne_Lchet6HlYugf5hBYjfhCIpAfskP_uvXHl20F9IDqlKns/s1600/aIMG_0150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU43rt8g47aH1J_0I3QueCLKqVlQw64sHcQGT2WF1pmeNcfPzs0r0DNcm5L3eRjDQROaso8mKhNhNPu7BRN7L52HP3Aadmqne_Lchet6HlYugf5hBYjfhCIpAfskP_uvXHl20F9IDqlKns/s320/aIMG_0150.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Procedure: </b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Preheat oven to 350 F / 180 C. Line 2
baking sheets with parchment paper.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour,
baking powder, baking soda, and salt.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Beat the butter and sugars till mixed.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjbxgGQeklTBjy7_Mxj46fPxguJEP4NOGLdJTvodYldQv74gNaT5O4c_ULiq-FkbKQj4mncFwxpMn9WKF8zdpn9ghmq2PZmnBGj3QDswdbIStc1u7Pj5pfx4rHl0e2bHEqZiI3qFKX76Lr/s1600/aSDC11352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjbxgGQeklTBjy7_Mxj46fPxguJEP4NOGLdJTvodYldQv74gNaT5O4c_ULiq-FkbKQj4mncFwxpMn9WKF8zdpn9ghmq2PZmnBGj3QDswdbIStc1u7Pj5pfx4rHl0e2bHEqZiI3qFKX76Lr/s320/aSDC11352.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Add the almond butter and beat it till
its nice and fluffy. The smell of almond butter is so good. You smell the nutty
flavors already!</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Add the eggs, one at a time. Also add
the vanilla extract and beat them together till combined.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjet7guIzftEX5RE-RSv5ZsxPQRUFjVBrNJJyVrHUl1uN_NsocHm9K7nc1J-j8O2DaxbO6s0DPzE5QiSmLMqxopS_DaHYSdh7A81sJQMXwxKeTDbEm0r6q7CaRfPFQiNzrxlYw15RAVdNGX/s1600/aSDC11355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjet7guIzftEX5RE-RSv5ZsxPQRUFjVBrNJJyVrHUl1uN_NsocHm9K7nc1J-j8O2DaxbO6s0DPzE5QiSmLMqxopS_DaHYSdh7A81sJQMXwxKeTDbEm0r6q7CaRfPFQiNzrxlYw15RAVdNGX/s320/aSDC11355.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Add the flour mixture little by little
until incorporated.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Add the almonds and chocolate chips
and fold them gently into the batter.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOjEJxVwrcSODNNzu0iSNue-UBEDcEcrx4j5YixCSzL6Cuu3JNDqp0v0s9g4a_h0fTRe-Wp0b2KdSOesTG0JIK2d3RnBnQ03iceks7zSiwYYjwnrG3PD6qySxshhRMk6xMp6zhFdouXM8/s1600/aSDC11371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOjEJxVwrcSODNNzu0iSNue-UBEDcEcrx4j5YixCSzL6Cuu3JNDqp0v0s9g4a_h0fTRe-Wp0b2KdSOesTG0JIK2d3RnBnQ03iceks7zSiwYYjwnrG3PD6qySxshhRMk6xMp6zhFdouXM8/s320/aSDC11371.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">You can place the dough in the fridge
for a while before baking. It is an optional step, though. I happened to forget
to preheat the oven. With the extra time I had, I decided to put my dough in
the fridge as I do for other cookies.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Roll the dough into 2 tablespoon sized
balls, and lay them on parchment paper-lined baking sheets about 2 inches
apart.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Press the tops of the dough balls with
the bottom of a drinking glass dipped in flour or sugar. You can sprinkle the
tops with a little sea salt. (I skipped adding the sea salt)</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhPAu6iZnckVw9WnDWVbEOVaiFl_hfqx4v0vAmlUC5vAWoZlEVRsPCXT5FglNmTJl4Otx0Nbllfg4vygnXs6DnWEgbeSMzP9m23TbElNQ8-UxXroiXGZNATGiRu3XqzidIrmU8qZ5pd35/s1600/aSDC11373.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhPAu6iZnckVw9WnDWVbEOVaiFl_hfqx4v0vAmlUC5vAWoZlEVRsPCXT5FglNmTJl4Otx0Nbllfg4vygnXs6DnWEgbeSMzP9m23TbElNQ8-UxXroiXGZNATGiRu3XqzidIrmU8qZ5pd35/s320/aSDC11373.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Bake for 13-15 mins. Allow the cookies
to cool on the tray before moving it to a cooling rack.</span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAwTfVzTgIUmchzex17WAav89RUP7hLws-UpMMIWFTnKVGrlyIsqWy8DM2ZOmst5bTwgzuuAQPV1MGlOMUkJ1y1LEJCZ7aRC6Cr9EITRFCyEa4qpTciT6eqy99ppQ2miH6I1r8G7RXbhOa/s1600/aIMG_0155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAwTfVzTgIUmchzex17WAav89RUP7hLws-UpMMIWFTnKVGrlyIsqWy8DM2ZOmst5bTwgzuuAQPV1MGlOMUkJ1y1LEJCZ7aRC6Cr9EITRFCyEa4qpTciT6eqy99ppQ2miH6I1r8G7RXbhOa/s320/aIMG_0155.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Once the cookie cools down fully.....
Attack!</span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqBr7ZEbNH54IC-FDOcwBFFOglbc8Ka-UwC4cfTITv-eVgxKWGZH6wAjkXZ2RNGdbmopPKDHR7G5vpXm-o9RGP1wxXjSHiLfgodpwH_AMr29l9fzK_a0PaqY4Tr6I3xpapbzRt8S5rHNPq/s1600/aIMG_0159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqBr7ZEbNH54IC-FDOcwBFFOglbc8Ka-UwC4cfTITv-eVgxKWGZH6wAjkXZ2RNGdbmopPKDHR7G5vpXm-o9RGP1wxXjSHiLfgodpwH_AMr29l9fzK_a0PaqY4Tr6I3xpapbzRt8S5rHNPq/s320/aIMG_0159.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">This cookie was very tasty. I loved it. This cookie is not entirely crisp. As brown sugar is hydroscopic (It absorbs the moisture around), it makes the cookie soft and chewy. This recipe makes about 3 -3 1/2 dozen cookies.</span></div>
</div>
Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-91253662521556061772011-07-31T23:43:00.001-04:002011-07-31T23:44:20.267-04:00Quinoa Raisin Muffins with Lime Curd Whipped Cream Frosting<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span><br />
It's <a href="http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/free-spirit-bloggers/">Free Spirit Blogger (FSB)</a> time again. This month it was <a href="http://lata-raja.blogspot.com/">Lataji's</a> turn to host and pick our monthly theme for FSB. She made a list of ingredients for use in making desserts and paired it up with two flavorable add-ons (for us to use one of them). Each of us FSBs had to make a dessert based on a random assignment of the ingredients. I was super nervous as all the ingredients' combination in her list were unique and sounded challenging to use in a dessert. The draw got me <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa">Quinoa</a> with flavourable addons - raisins or fruit juice. Quinoa is supposed to be a healthy pseudocereal with high protein, fiber, iron, a balanced set of amino acids, and is gluten free.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span">I had a big bag of quinoa sitting in my pantry staring at my face.. as you can imagine, I got it as part of my 'healthy' grocery list a while back after getting inspired by all the recipes online, but had not used it a whole lot beyond the initial experimentation. So, this was some sort of a sign for me to bring that bag of quinoa out for incorporation. </span> I had never used quinoa in a dessert before. I've used it as a rice substitute with a bunch of alterations to recipes in order to mask its chewy texture, but using it in a dessert seemed hard to do.<span class="Apple-style-span"> And after a lot of debate (with myself!), some googling and polling a few people, I settled on a recipe from the internet with some adjustments I wanted to make. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvTmqGudbIt7jt4z_TdYYU22QTzTiZxwVQWhXRCwAveQzsroDBxmRMPDchF3ca_MLAPNJIiWlBasrVoDy22mUc0I5TC4mvCogB6kL2vF-3enpi6QVjrUAKNVY2jZpCQVuZ7JOCl-44-6fk/s1600/upload_quinoa_cupcakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvTmqGudbIt7jt4z_TdYYU22QTzTiZxwVQWhXRCwAveQzsroDBxmRMPDchF3ca_MLAPNJIiWlBasrVoDy22mUc0I5TC4mvCogB6kL2vF-3enpi6QVjrUAKNVY2jZpCQVuZ7JOCl-44-6fk/s320/upload_quinoa_cupcakes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span">Now over to the recipe.</span><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Recipe below adapted from <a href="http://cleananddelicious.com/2008/02/06/quinoa_muffins/">here</a></span></i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
Ingredients:<br />
1/3rd cup Unsalted Butter, in room temperature<br />
3/4 cup Brown Sugar<br />
1 Large Egg<br />
2 cups of All Purpose Flour/Maida<br />
1 ½ tsp Baking powder<br />
1/2 tsp Baking soda<br />
1 tsp Salt<br />
1/3rd cup - 1/2 cup Raisins (I used golden raisins)<br />
1 cup Milk<br />
1 tsp Vanilla (I used 1/2 tsp of vanilla powder and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract)<br />
1 tsp Lemon Eest<br />
1/2 tsp of Lemon Extract<br />
2 cups of <a href="http://grainfreerecipes.com/1153/how-to-cook-quinoa/">Cooked Quinoa</a><br />
<br />
Directions:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C. Grease and flour muffin tins, or line with cupcake liners</li>
<li>Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy</li>
<li>Add the egg and mix well.Add vanilla extract and mix till incorporated</li>
<li>In a medium sized bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt</li>
<ul>
<li>Alternately, add the flour mixture and milk and mix well until incorporated</li>
</ul>
<li>Fold in the raisins, lemon zest and lemon extract</li>
<li>Fold in the cooked quinoa</li>
<li>Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups</li>
<li>Bake for 25-30 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean</li>
<li>Cool the muffins on a cooling rack</li>
</ul>
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I was surprised with the outcome of these cupcakes. It was more edible than I imagined ;). I had not planned on frosting the cupcakes initially. Once they were done, I tasted one and realized they were still a bit chewy and somewhat dry. I had suspected this would happen based on my past experience using quinoa, and I did not have a whole lot of room to experiment with a baking recipe. Without some moisture to ease its intake, this would have been a bit hard to swallow. Hence, I added a tangy but light frosting. I have also included below a few suggestions on how to improve the recipe to make the cupcake more moist.<br />
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For the frosting:<br />
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<div>
1 cup of very cold Heavy Whipping Cream</div>
<div>
2-3 tbsp Sugar (more if you like it sweeter)</div>
<div>
4-5 tbsp <a href="http://www.joyofbaking.com/LemonCurd.html">Lime Curd</a> ( I used lime juice and lime zest instead of lemon zest and lemon juice)</div>
<div>
1 tbsp Lime Zest</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>In a bowl place the whipping cream and sugar and whip it on high speed until it holds peaks</li>
<li>Fold in the lime curd and zest with a rubber spatula</li>
<li>Fill it into pastry bags and decorate your cupcakes</li>
</ul>
<div>
I should say these two worked very well with each other. I felt like some feedback would help refine this more experimental bake, so had sent out the extra muffins to my husband's office. They all liked it. They too did feel that it was a bit dry. One of them suggested that I add something like grated zucchini to make a lighter muffin and also keep it a bit moist. It sounds like a good idea! Baking with zucchini has been on my list of things to do too. I shall keep you posted about it. Quinoa-rasin cupcakes are definitely a good option for someone looking for a healthy treat (minus the frosting if you don't need that)<br />
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</div>
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Also, do hop over to my fellow free spirit bloggers: <a href="http://www.loveandlentil.com/">Anu</a>, <a href="http://www.somesalttotaste.blogspot.com/">Deepti</a>, <a href="http://chefinyou.com/">DK</a>, <a href="http://lata-raja.blogspot.com/">Lata</a>, <a href="http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/">Mads</a>, <a href="http://www.cookingandme.com/">Nags</a> and <a href="http://www.cookingwithsiri.com/">Siri</a>, to check out what ingredient combination they worked with over July.</div>
</div>Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-25397313506988050682011-07-19T20:28:00.001-04:002011-07-21T21:45:17.307-04:00Mixed Veggie Kootu<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My husband escaped to San Diego for a week to attend some users conference, which my mom thinks is some music 'concert'! I am pretty pissed he went without me, to talk about water and GIS, or whatever. Nevertheless, before his flight home, he tells me he wants lunch at home to be a remedy for a week of eating out. "Some Kootu, rasam, rice meals", he said. He'll owe me more if I did this.. hmmmm.<br />
<br />
So, this post is about a <i>Kootu</i> (a South Indian Vegetable and Lentil stew) . What is so special about this Kootu I made last Friday?. This is for both veggie lovers and haters to lick clean. People who know me, know how I hate my veggies, and I ate up all the veggies in this Kootu (I swear!) ;). I guess this could work for anyone fussy not getting their fair share of veggies.<br />
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The recipe I used is from one of my mom's friends, and they used to call it "kolamB". Its very simple to make, has veggies, no fats to add!, and yummy! . From what I remember, tt is very comforting to have, especially when recovering from a lot of eating out. This is my go to food when needing to recover from long travel.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMFm14L4oNSY_SCxO9Sa3RwCqXyzO2hXxAdhYcWHai8VJWbAFbA-R7t8_dvM2Y4jHkfLepgsjXoehlsiqaOUwRS1ThwOn2PPaGWFotWgNpk2HjEir4XwIFI7c-jiBMRUN_xXUse6hjVt0/s1600/upload.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMFm14L4oNSY_SCxO9Sa3RwCqXyzO2hXxAdhYcWHai8VJWbAFbA-R7t8_dvM2Y4jHkfLepgsjXoehlsiqaOUwRS1ThwOn2PPaGWFotWgNpk2HjEir4XwIFI7c-jiBMRUN_xXUse6hjVt0/s320/upload.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>I need to get into the habit of clicking pictures before we start eating if I want to blog about it! I screwed up, hence the crappy photo. </i></div>
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Here is the recipe:<br />
<br />
<i>Ingredients:</i><br />
1 chopped potato<br />
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped carrot<br />
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped beans<br />
1/4 cup peas<br />
<i>(Any other vegetables you like to see with the above, some might like to add soy beans)</i><br />
<br />
<i>Soak and grind : ( For some 10-15 minutes)</i><br />
2 tsp rice<br />
1 tsp mustard<br />
2-3 dried red chillies<br />
2 -3 tsp grated coconut <i>( No need to soak it)</i><br />
<br />
1/2 - 3/4 cup toor dal<br />
1/4 -1/2 tsp turmeric powder<br />
few curry leaves<br />
salt - to taste<br />
<ul>
<li>Pressure cook toor dal along with some turmeric powder.</li>
<li>In a medium pan add the veggies, the ground paste, turmeric powder , cooked toor dal, and salt. </li>
<li>Cook on medium flame till it all comes together (~15 mins).</li>
<li>Once the veggies have cooked fully to a soft texture, turn off the heat. </li>
<li>Garnish with curry leaves.</li>
<li>Seriously! The recipe is over. I told you it would be simple, right? :)</li>
</ul>
</div>Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-5094499283308430602011-05-14T22:07:00.003-04:002011-11-04T13:35:09.314-04:00Eggless Chocolate Pound Cake (FSB)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span id="internal-source-marker_0.22907282644882798" style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here I am with my second post. I started writing it and in parallel was working on a project the night before I was leaving for my 2 month visit to India!! It may have seemed strange that I launched my blog in all that excitement, headed off for vacation 2 days later, and have not been heard from since... or, maybe that’s how it is initially? Maybe be not the one blog in a week type of a scenario for my start? </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span id="internal-source-marker_0.22907282644882798" style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, this might explain some. The reason I started my blog after much procrastination was due to the motivation behind this particular post (I know I have said in other entries and pages there are many that got me to where I am.. but there’s more!). I doubted it would take me a couple of days after I got to India, that I get to complete this entry (as is the case), but the mission was to complete the project by the end of April !! OK, before I start sounding like the person who tried to write about some secret spy mission, with a end of the month deadline on a blog, let me explain the project before you get totally confused. </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">About 2 months back, my dear friend </span><a href="http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Madhuri</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, with her fervor and enthusiasm, came up with this innovative idea for a series of blogger events that would be ‘something totally different’ - Free Spirit Bloggers (FSB), and included me in the mailing list announcing this idea. There I was, seen in a mailing list with some very enthusiastic and inspiring thought leaders in the food making and food blogging society, super excited, but had a slight problem… I did not have a blog to be using, to join a blogger event like this one!</span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Either Madhuri’s was the final kick-in-the-butt I needed to start my food blog, or this was just plain embarrassing and I had to do something! I had been wanting to do this for some time now whereas I was satisfied with posting some pictures I clicked of the food we make at home, and derived my pleasure talking about, and serving food to people around me when I got the chance - but was I really getting to something with this interest? Don’t get me wrong, I still love that experience and I am sure everyone who enjoys food and cooking, does too... but to take the effort to organize thoughts, recipes and pictures in trying to represent the taste of the food, while also sharing a good recipe, and facing a larger audience on the web, is something that takes some hard work and being inspired, to make happen! It is a bit harder for me than cooking and eating itself! I wondered for a while... did I have it in me? Is there a right circumstance that would present itself.. ‘a while’ here btw, being almost 2 years!!</span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think you get the idea.. FSB + realization that I was being a lazy bum, got me to seek some help I much needed, from my husband and Madhuri. This connects back to some other stuff I said </span><a href="http://slurpchompyumm.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Believe me, I’ll soon stop talking about why and how I started blogging :P, but for now, I am saying this to myself so I keep myself motivated. Now let’s get to the project at hand. </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">FSB is a group of 8 bloggers. We will work together every month to pick a theme and share 8 recipes based on that theme, but only at the end of the month (still wondering what this post is doing coming out mid-month?!- I am late posting, as I was leaving for a 2 month trip to India, and no this is not an example of </span><a href="http://indiansworldwide.org/ist.htm"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">IST </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:P). While each recipe can be quite different, and sometimes not even the same general dish, we will all stick to the central premise of the theme of that month. Read more </span><a href="http://cookcurrynook.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/free-spirit-bloggers/"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">April's theme was egg substitutions. I think most of us Indian vegetarians have at some point wondered about egg substitution - be it for ourselves, for our parents who do not eat eggs, for a friend/ relative who is allergic, of course the Brahmin sect that traditionally considers egg as non-vegetarian and would not eat it, while many of the same sect have said “egg is allowed, but chicken, mutton, beef, sea food not allowed” (as though the latter covered everything that’s not vegetarian!), or “ I will eat it in cakes, but not omlettes or boiled eggs that stink of the Hydrogen Sulphide I remember from the Chemistry Lab” (me talking anything remotely chemistry is my husband’s influence or his input to a post... sure, you guessed that if you know my relationship with the subject :P).... or maybe egg replacers simply because you feel like substituting something that is so vital to baking! We FSBs had around 16 substitutions (!) for eggs at our disposal to work with, and we each picked 2 out of that list to work into a recipe that otherwise needed eggs. I picked Ener-G, a commercial egg replacer, and a combination of water + oil + baking powder. These 2 were to be used in the making of 2 separate chocolate pound cakes. </span></b></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As you can tell, I was very excited to start working on this project, get my blog going on the side, and I started out very optimistically and excited, and must say had a great experience doing this and writing about it. Let’s go to the recipes and the outcome, shall we?</span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*I have presented the original recipe in italics and my notes on alternative approaches adopted in regular bold font as I walk you through this.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ingredients:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">250 Grams All purpose flour/ Maida</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">250 Grams Sugar</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">250 Grams Butter</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">50 Grams Cocoa powder</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: medium; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; white-space: normal;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; white-space: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRHpAQuixeHLvklKb6H5i31ssFwvI-VrXQybJf5gbJMjnD4tmrCpCtwHf_dCF6uik7Cbur9bUIQPdFSX12fAG28mQAHdFZPzH7mNn___VFI14lgQXh_dvBV5jJE1pHLLZvjVStN60IMxT0/s1600/IMG_2446-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRHpAQuixeHLvklKb6H5i31ssFwvI-VrXQybJf5gbJMjnD4tmrCpCtwHf_dCF6uik7Cbur9bUIQPdFSX12fAG28mQAHdFZPzH7mNn___VFI14lgQXh_dvBV5jJE1pHLLZvjVStN60IMxT0/s320/IMG_2446-1.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; white-space: normal;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; white-space: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span">( I accidentally reset the scale before the Photo. That was about 50 grams of Cocoa Powder)</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; font-style: normal; white-space: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4 Eggs</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> – </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I used : </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for cake (a), 1 ½ tsp Ener -G + 2 Tbsp warm water in place of 1 egg, and </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for cake (b), 1 tbsp oil + 2 tbsp water + ½ tsp baking powder in place of 1 egg. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1 tsp Baking soda</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">½ tsp Baking powder</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">½ tsp Salt</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1 tsp Vanilla extract</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Upto ½ cup Milk</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><u><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Directions:</span></u></i><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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<li style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Preheat oven to 350f/ 180c and grease the baking tin - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Check</span></span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt 2-3 times and set aside</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Check</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cream butter and sugar until creamy and pale . Add vanilla extract and beat well</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Check</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dd the eggs one at a time and beat till well incorporated.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For cake (a), I mixed Ener-G and water, whisked it, and set it aside for 5 minutes. Then I added that mixture to the mixture with butter and beat it till nice and creamy. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: bold; white-space: pre-wrap;">For cake (b), I added Oil and beat it till it was well incorporated.</span></span></li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5pDvFkY7vsgcomo6se1xNWx_TmAJxkpdMDNG2pNIdM8egQmGTIgaRDRT2SY4YQKhuAipL8_vfhQqC3i_znpZOo92Q2HW-H9GeIz86s9vHlEK5NE5MHieWL-7QcqG1zyjOGXoMVs-kkUoQ/s1600/IMG_2452-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5pDvFkY7vsgcomo6se1xNWx_TmAJxkpdMDNG2pNIdM8egQmGTIgaRDRT2SY4YQKhuAipL8_vfhQqC3i_znpZOo92Q2HW-H9GeIz86s9vHlEK5NE5MHieWL-7QcqG1zyjOGXoMVs-kkUoQ/s320/IMG_2452-1.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<li style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, add the sifted flour mixture to the butter mixture little by little and beat well till blended smoothly</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Check</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add adequate milk to achieve a batter of dropping consistency - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> maxed out on the ½ cup milk . For effort (a), I found that the batter was not of dropping consistency and that it was slightly thicker. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: bold; white-space: pre-wrap;">For effort (b), I found that the batter was very thick in spite of adding ½ cup milk + 8 Tbsp water ( part of the egg re-placer)</span></span></li>
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<li style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake @ 180C/ 350F for 45-50 mins or until done - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Check,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I baked Cake (a) in a 8*8 pan and it took me 45 mins. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: bold; white-space: pre-wrap;">I baked Cake (b) in a 13*9 pan and it took me 20 mins.</span></span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now the results ...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeLC1Ah_HlFsjqY0A88idHlc7gjkNUhmYp_ihfSgQhS81fhL8sdxe5M1wA3mD8Hc0Jdr1IsotbrKjFpeCk006VeXKKTkT153LDET76zbAtJ3HVWyIgZyCBgZeLQlgN5I3_qGW0aiHQ8c9s/s1600/IMG_6285-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeLC1Ah_HlFsjqY0A88idHlc7gjkNUhmYp_ihfSgQhS81fhL8sdxe5M1wA3mD8Hc0Jdr1IsotbrKjFpeCk006VeXKKTkT153LDET76zbAtJ3HVWyIgZyCBgZeLQlgN5I3_qGW0aiHQ8c9s/s320/IMG_6285-1.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Cake (a) using Ener-G Egg replacer</i></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.44883467559702694" style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Cake a)</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The cake tasted absolutely great and it was super soft. But what seemed odd after I set it to cool, was this mini meteor crater/depression that had formed in the middle of the cake! My husband said it must have been plate tectonics/faulting created by angered ingredients for not seeing their egg around them in their good times in the hot sauna, the oven (the show-off Civil Engineer!)! </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0H3KVxL1HURMpRhSNDIqG8vSgpUbyqKuCe_50uTUK_eXb1H1PqUtAWBmLi0TFIgKkjRzSzY1w-fXF8lAOmfxsPXQM-8xW6_O9MTUKlLgvEkVmGzXttqIQCx0ZMBX418n8UhndCjEkhh_/s1600/IMG_2455-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0H3KVxL1HURMpRhSNDIqG8vSgpUbyqKuCe_50uTUK_eXb1H1PqUtAWBmLi0TFIgKkjRzSzY1w-fXF8lAOmfxsPXQM-8xW6_O9MTUKlLgvEkVmGzXttqIQCx0ZMBX418n8UhndCjEkhh_/s320/IMG_2455-1.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.44883467559702694" style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.44883467559702694" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t think seeing the picture and the missing patch that looks like the boundary of the state of Bihar (before jharkhand), and think I am calling that the crater, or that my husband dug into it while I was not looking, it was just a patch that would have been covered with the icing, and now it sat in the middle of this crater/depression. Nevertheless, I covered it up with blissfully- gooey- chocolatey-goodness </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">i.e., </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chocolate Ganache!. No one would know about the crater unless I tell them, right ? </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Cake b)</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> This cake was super duper fragile (which, of course, I did not know when I took it out of the oven) and when I turned the cake upside down to cool it, only half of the cake came out. The rest decided to stay in the pan for a bit longer!. I tried to coax the rest of the cake to come out of the pan and I think they got pissed off with me and decided to crumble when I forced the rest of the cake out of the pan. Disaster, ain? Well, They don’t know me that well I am not the one to give up a fight so easily.... not when I have been trained for fights by my brother who I am so pally with now! So this is what I did: I crumbled the entire cake in a big bowl..Mugahahah! I am evil. crumbly cakes get more crumbled. All this in a state of mind where I am wondering what I did wrong and I still have not figured it out, and did not want to conclude that the substitution did not do the trick for me. Then for a change, the usually rule book, recipe following, chart-out-a-plan-well-before-you-can me, was taken over by some experimental rush. I was motivated in wanting to get something out of this. I poured some nice warm chocolate ganache on its crumbly head (Mittu to cake: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You didn’t expect that for revenge did ya? hah! If you thought that was evil, you have no idea what you are in for</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) . I mixed up the cake and ganache well and I made lemon sized balls out of it, and stuck in some lollipop sticks (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">serves you right</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). I refrigerated them for a while. Once they were a bit hard, I dipped them into some more Chocolate ganache I had set aside. I should have stuck these on a piece of Styrofoam, but well, this was disaster recovery being performed by someone who is usually very bad at it (I will be very mad if anyone provides any snippets in the comments section to prove this :P). Oh, I also did not have a Styrofoam ready in hand. Hence, I placed them in a muffin tray ( not the best idea, but it worked) and again put them back into the fridge. After about half an hour later, we had some sinfully chocolate, cake <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">pops!. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Cake (pops) (b) using Oil+Water+Baking Powder Egg substitution</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Then those little rascals started going after her.. and then shortly chomped together (Yumm!)</i></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, I guess with both my substitutions I could have done better. Given what I ultimately did with my second cake (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">you got chomped, *****</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ), I probably was not my usual self - one following recipes down to a tee, and being a little more in control of the outcomes (Baking is a science with rules unlike cooking where you have more room for experimenting). Maybe a slightly more experimental self of me took over. This could be because these are substitutions, and already an attempt to break the norm :). </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #cccccc; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I will be sure to try these substitutions again and report back to you on how it worked and what I did better to get the consistency right, not just the great taste I got and in the altered form. Having said that, I had a lot of fun this time being part of the FSB initiative, enjoyed the hard work and the challenges I had to overcome (phew!). Hope that I have not let the team down by pulling a stunt and not figuring out what went wrong and fixing it, but instead, that I have shared with you, a fun experience I had. I have continued determination to make these egg substitutions work well, and hope to try some of the other options too. Thanks again to Madhuri and other Free Spirit Bloggers for the company, and for being part of inspiring me to start this blog. </span></span></span></div>
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</div>Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1192517652265382296.post-58576263078851877482011-04-28T02:46:00.002-04:002011-10-04T14:07:59.178-04:00My food blog, finally! - Starting with something sweet, literally! - Chakka Pradhaman<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hi, am Mittu the parrot ( not really!!). I didn’t know how else to start this first post of mine and I remember a friend telling me that’s apparently how I introduced myself to her the first time we met! After a lot of persuasion, perspiration, procrastrination and melodrama, here I am starting my food blog. I must thank all my friends, family and fans (??) for having faith in me taking this initiative before December 21, 2012 - the end of days. I have also shared a brief set of memorable experiences and valuable learnings in acknowledgement to all the people that have inspired me <a href="http://slurpchompyumm.blogspot.com/p/about-me_27.html">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">It is a part of our South Indian tradition to start (and end) a meal with a sweet. On that note, since this is the beginning, I would like to start my food blog with describing the making of a sweet... </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">chakka pradaman</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"> / jackfruit pudding. Jackfruit is revered and hated with the same passion for its unique smell, taste and texture. I am a big fan of jackfruit! and have always wanted to make a variety of dishes with it! While growing up, however, my brother sponsored a hate club for a few food items and this would make consuming Jackfruit a very painful process if he was in the same room ( what a brat!!). Well, that did not stop me from stuffing my self with honey soaked Jackfruit when it was in season!. Just the thought of it almost is taking me back to my childhood. This recipe is pretty simple and flexible, so here goes...</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
</span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Chaka Pradaman </span></b></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">/ Jack fruit pudding:</span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><u>Ingredients:</u></b></span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 cup fresh de-seeded, chopped up </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jackfruit (tinned works too) </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">¾ cup Jaggery (reduce to 1/2 cup if you don't have a sweet tooth like me)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 cup Water</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 - 1½ cup Coconut milk</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 tbsp ghee</span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><u>For garnishing:</u></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">1 tbsp ghee</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">1 tbsp cashew chopped</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">1 tbsp almonds chopped</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">1 tbsp raisins</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><u>Steps:</u></b></span><br />
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<ol style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">
<li>Puree the jackfruit in a blender.</li>
<li>Combine the Jackfruit , ghee and the jaggery in a nonstick saucepan, on medium heat.</li>
<li>Now cook the mixture till the jaggery is dissolved. Stir in regular intervals to ensure that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the saucepan.</li>
<li>Add 1 cup of water and cook the mixture further till it thickens and continue stirring.</li>
<li>Add coconut milk and turn off the stove.</li>
<li>Garnish with roasted cashews, almonds and raisins.</li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Notes- As a person with a severe case of sweet tooth-ism, I loved it at the sweet levels produced by the above recipe. It may be too sweet for those not used to this particular dish :). You can reduce the quantity of Jaggery if your Jackfruit is very sweet, or alternately if you prefer a more subtle sweetness. Also, if you want to reduce the calorific content (generally, there’s not much of escaping that with South Indian sweets!), you can cut down the amount of coconut milk added, and replace it with regular or almond milk.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</div>Mittuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09285703940112626598noreply@blogger.com13