Zestyflavors

Gajar ka Halwa ( Sweet Carrot Pudding)

2012-03-23T20:19:00.000-05:00

Halwa is a word used to describe many types of dense sweet confections. There are a lot many different types of Halwa that can be made like flour based ( See my whole wheat halwa recipe), nut based, veggies like squash (Yes! You read it right! See recipe here), carrot (gajar) based....recipe of which I am going to share with you today.

Gajar Halwa is one of the most famous desserts made in North India typically during the winter times because that's when you get carrots in India. Those red carrots are just so delicious and has natural sweet taste. This is the first time I made gajar halwa and I wasn't sure if the halwa made from orange carrots is going to taste as delicious as the one made from red carrots. To my surprise, it came out so delicious and you can't even tell that its made from orange carrots. The color of cooked halwa came out so rich and beautiful too!

For Gajar halwa, carrots are cooked on medium low flame in the milk until they soak up all the milk and then added to it is sugar, nuts, cardamom powder, khoya, ghee and cooked some more and the result is this delicious rich pudding.

Here is the delicious recipe (Click here for the printable version)

Ingredients:
6 cups-shredded carrots (Peel and wash before shredding)
3 cups-whole milk
1 1/2 cup-sugar
1/2 cup-khoya (divided)
4 tbsp- ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
15-20- raisins ( soak in water for 30 min)
chopped almonds and cashews

Method:
1. In a thick bottomed pan, heat 2 tbsp of ghee and add the carrots. Cook carrots while stirring for about 10 min. The color of carrots will start to change. It will look pale.
2. Add the milk and let the carrots cook in milk on medium-low flame while stirring occasionally until the milk is reduced to half the quantity.
3. Add sugar and 1/4 cup of khoya at this point and let it cook, this time until all the liquid is soaked up.
4. Once all the liquid is soaked, add the 2 tbsp of ghee, raisins, almonds, cashews and cook it while stirring occasionally until the ghee starts to leave the sides. You will see that the color of the pudding will turn darker in color.
5. Switch of the gas and mix in the cardamom powder.

Garnish with rest of the khoya and serve warm.

Choco Vanilla Biscotti

2012-03-05T19:09:00.001-06:00

Would it be wise to say that biscotti is man's best friend? Well....I think this statement holds true for the man of my life :) He loves biscotti's and that's the reason I keep baking them and try different flavors every time. As you can see, this time I baked the Choco-Vanilla and it turned out as a big hit with my husband.

Here is the recipe (Click here for the printable version)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp of all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs cocoa powder
1 tbsp milk

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, sieve together the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. Using the whisk attachment of your electric mixer, beat eggs till they are fluffy. Stir in the vanilla essence.
3. Add in the sugar and butter and beat at medium speed until it’s well mixed.
4. Now change to the paddle attachment and slowly add the flour mixture and beat it on medium speed.
5. Now dip your hands in some flour (as dough will be sticky to handle) and transfer half the batter to the greased cookie sheet/baking sheet.

6. Now add the cocoa powder and 1 tbsp of milk in the rest half of the batter and mix with light hands using a spatula.

7. Transfer chocolate batter on the side of vanilla batter, overlapping it. Now shape the dough into a log of 12 inches long and approx 3 inches wide.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until it is firm to touch. (Log will spread during baking)
9. Take it out and let it cool for 10 minutes.
10. On a cutting board cut the log crosswise on the diagonal into 3/4 inch (2 cm) slices.

11.Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Arrange the slices on the baking sheet, cut side down and bake for 10 minutes on each side, or until they are pale golden. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Dunk in your favorite cup of coffee and enjoy!

Strawberry Cupcakes with Lacy Chocolate Hearts

2012-02-17T00:52:00.000-06:00

A big hello to all my fellow bloggers and readers of Zesty flavors. Thanks to all the followers who kept visiting my blog even when I abandoned this precious space of mine.There were lot of other important things that needed more attention and time, therefore the absence. But I am back now and I am going to try to be more regular again. I am yet to peek into all your blogs and enjoy the delicious recipes that you guys made and shared during last few months! Gosh! Can't believe I was away for so long. Happy to be back :)

I baked after such a long time on Valentine's Day to surprise my dear husband when he came home for lunch. Every year on Valentine's day I bake something with heart shape to mark the essence of the day. During first year of my blog, it was the heart-shaped NY Style Cheesecake, last year it was the Red Velvet Cake and this year Strawberry Cupcakes with lacy chocolate hearts. I had seen this recipe on Martha Stewart's site and was thinking of baking it for long. Valentine's day seemed like the perfect occasion. I iced the cupcakes with fluffy whipped cream with some fresh strawberry puree in it. It tasted awesome.

Here is the recipe (Click here for printable version)

2/3 cup whole fresh strawberries
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg whites, room temperature

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.
Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. Set aside about 2 tbsp of puree for frosting and keep 1/3 cup aside for baking cupcakes.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.
With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended alternating with milk mixture. Start and finish with flour mixture until just blended.
Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 20-23 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

For Icing

1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tbsp powdered sugar
2 tbsp strawberry puree

Keep the bowl of your electric mixer and whisker attachment in freezer for 5 min before using. Take the cream out of fridge right when you are ready to make the icing. Beat the cream with strawberry sauce and sugar high speed until soft peak forms. Pipe into the cone and keep in fridge until ready to ice the cupcakes.

For Lacy Chocolate Hearts

½ cup semi-sweet baking chocolate chips

Parchment paper

Melt the chocolate chips using double boiler method. Once it cools a bit, spoon into the re-sealable cone and make a small hole on the tip. Spread parchment paper on a baking sheet and pipe chocolate into hearts, filling in with squiggles (be sure squiggles are at least 1/4 inch thick so hearts won't break when removed).

Freeze hearts until set, about 15 minutes. Remove hearts using an offset spatula right when you are ready to garnish.

Please your Valentine and your kids :))

Enjoy!!

Eggless Pumpkin Walnut Bread

2011-10-06T21:19:00.001-05:00

Its been toooo long! I know...I won't give any excuses this time. I have become a lazy bum! Infact this pumpkin bread was made a week ago, I just never transferred the pics from the camera. I think I was in one of those phases where you do some things regularly, aggressively, passionately and then suddenly you don't want to do it for a while.......get recharged and then get back to it. Hopefully I am back into writing and won't be as lazy as I was past month :)

I have missed all your delicious recipes which I will go through one by one in the coming days. For now, here is the delicious Eggless Pumpkin Bread with walnuts that I baked last week. I was just sitting and I suddenly started missing baking, I got up, scanned my pantry and saw this pumkin puree can I had bought a couple of weeks ago. I love pumpkin bread and that's what I decided to bake. Loaded with aromatic spices and walnuts- this bread was a delicious treat.

This bread was an amazingly easy to make. All the ingredients needed to be stirred together and baked to perfection. That's it. Your house will smell heavenly when you bake this delicious bread. So what are you waiting for? Get those aprons over your head, stir up the ingredients and bake this yummy bread and have a wonderful snack or how about you pack some for tomorrow morning's breakfast? :)

Here is the recipe (Click here for the printable version)

Ingredients:

3 tbs ground flaxseed

1/2 cup water

1 ¾ cup sugar

3/4 cup canola oil

15 oz pumpkin puree can

3 cups all purpose flour ( or you can use half whole wheat and half all purpose)

1 tsp each cinnamon, fresh nutmeg, and ground ginger

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup chopped walnuts

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together the flaxseed and water until thickened.
3. Combine flax mixture in a large bowl with sugar, oil, and pumpkin.
4. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
5. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet. Fold in the walnuts.

6. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan or 2 small pans.

7. Bake the large loaf for about 55 minutes and the smaller loaves for about 40 minutes.

8. Let sit for 20 minutes before removing from pan.

Let the bread cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!!

Hawaiian Pineapple Salsa & Veggie Tacos

2011-08-26T19:39:00.000-05:00

Aloha People! Yes, you guessed it right....I am back from 8 days of vacation in Hawaii. We went to Maui and it was amazing! Time just flew by, we so wanted to stay longer :). I did get myself some treats including best in the world Hawaiian Pineapple. They have the sweetest pineapples in the whole world. We couldn't get enough.

I decided to use some of the pineapple and make salsa with it along with veggie tacos. Both salsa and tacos turned out super-delicious. They are quick and easy to prepare and makes a fabulous lunch.

This salsa is perfectly seasoned with spices, lemon juice, pineapple's sweetness and hint of cumin. So get in to your Hawaiian mood and prepare this colorful, delicious salsa and enjoy it with chips, tacos, burritos or any of your favorite entree.

Here is the recipe for you all (Click here for printable version)

Ingredients & Method:

For Hawaiian Pineapple Salsa
1/2 cup chopped & seeded tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped pineapple
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 jalapeno pepper chopped
1 serrano pepper chopped
1 tsp cumin powder (cumin roasted & grounded)
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1-1.5 tsp lemon juice
salt- to taste
red chilli powder (optional)- to taste (we like our salsa little hot )

Method:
1. In a bowl, just add all the ingredients mentioned above and give it a mix. Check the seasoning and adjust.

Didn't I say, its super-easy? :)

For Veggie Tacos
Tacos- (whichever u like, corn/flour/whole grain)
1/2 cup sliced long onions
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cup kidney beans (pressure cooked until soft)
chopped lettuce leaves ( depends on how much you like)
sour cream (about 1 tbsp per taco)
guacamole (about 1 tbsp per taco- Please see the recipe HERE)
1/2 mexican four cheese shredded
1 tbsp + 1 tsp oil
Salsa [ which we made today :) ]

Method:
1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and stir fry onions and bell pepper lightly. Keep aside.
2. Remove kidney beans from the water it was boiled in and lightly season them with salt and black pepper.

Let's assemble the tacos now:
1. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and warm each taco lightly from both sides by holding each with a tong.
2. Add kidney beans on the center of the taco, sprinkle some cheese, add lettuce, onions & bell pepper, sour cream, guacamole. [don't stuff it too much, or else you won't be able to eat without getting that sour cream on your face :)]
3. Top it off with the delicious pineapple salsa we just made and dig in.

Spiced & Nutty Applesauce Cake

2011-07-17T23:27:00.000-05:00

A big hello to all my blogger friends and readers. I am back to blogging today after a month and it feels so good to be back. Last month was lot of fun with my in-laws. We took them to Niagara Falls and Finger Lakes in NY. It was a fun vacation.

My come-back post had to be with a "sweet" recipe. I had some applesauce sitting in my refrigerator from God knows when. I finally decided that I should empty some space in my fridge and use this applesauce. I went online and read some different recipes from many different sites. I finally decided to bake a spiced applesauce cake. I used the pumpkin spice ( the one we use in pumpkin pie), added some cinnamon, walnuts and raisins. Cake turned out moist and super delicious.

I couldn't help but eat a warm slice with ice-cream even before I was finished taking the pictures. I was taking the pics and I just couldn't help myself. Kept the camera aside, ate a huge slice and then resumed my picture taking session.

This cake was super easy to make. Just dumped all the ingredients together, mix and bake. Seriously!!

Here, let me share the recipe with you. (Click here for printable version)

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
2 cups (16oz) of applesauce
1 cup walnuts
3/4 cup raisins
1 tsp pumpkin spice OR all ground spice (whichever you prefer)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda

Method:
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degree F and keep a 9" inch square pan ready by greasing and dusting some flour on it.
2. Take all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry and add applesauce,melted butter, walnuts and raisins. Mix well, making a smooth batter.
4. Pour the batter into the greased baking sheet and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes before inverting it on the cooling rack.

Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and enjoy the warm cake with ice-cream or as is with your favorite coffee or tea. A perfect evening snack cake.

Homemade Potato Gnocchi

2011-06-06T23:51:00.000-05:00

I have always loved Gnocchi and often wondered if it can be easily made at home or not. I once tried the store-bought gnocchi and didn't like it at all. So for the sake of my taste buds, I decided to give gnocchi a try at home. I don't have the gnocchi roller so I used the fork to roll the gnocchi and mark the impressions. I was amazed and very happy with the first try of making this lovely pasta at home. It came out perfectly light and delicious. I served the gnocchi with the basil pesto sauce and we all enjoyed having a hearty and delicious meal.

It may take a little while to get hang of rolling gnocchi, but once you roll a few, you will be an expert in no time. I will take you through the process of making gnocchi with pictures of each step.

Here is the recipe: (Click here for printable version)

Ingredients:

1 lb potatoes ( I used gold skinned potatoes)

1 and 1/4 cup of all purpose flour

1 large egg

1 pinch salt

Method:

1. In a large pan, boil the potatoes until they are soft and tender all the way. While still warm, peel the skin off the potatoes and mash using fork or potato masher.

2. Make a well in center of potatoes and sprinkle all over with 1 cup of flour. Place egg and salt as well in the center and mix using a fork. Once egg is mixed in, bring dough together, kneading gently. Use extra flour as needed. The ball should be soft but dry to touch.

3. Divide the dough into 8 balls and roll each 1/8th of the ball into the snake shaped log and cut every 3/4th inch using a knife. Dust with a bit more flour.

4. Using the back side of the fork, roll the gnocchi in and down the length of the fork. The gnocchi should curl slightly into a "C" shape and their backs will capture the impression of the tines. This process can take a little while to get hang of so don't get discouraged and keep rolling.

5. Repeat step 4 until you have rolled all the dough.

6. Boil the prepared gnocchi for 2-3 minutes in little salted water. As soon as gnocchi starts floating on top of the water, take it out with a slotted spoon.

Toss it with your favorite sauce and seasonings & serve!

Cabbage Peas Stir-Fry

2011-05-24T14:29:00.000-05:00

One of the easiest and super tasty stir-fry. Cabbage and peas goes so well with each other. You can even add potatoes if you want. But I like it more just with peas. Takes about 15-20 min only and your dinner is set. We love to have this dry stir-fry with homemade roti (Indian bread) along with yogurt on the side.

Here is the recipe (Click here for printable version)

Ingredients:
1 cabbage head (outer leaf removed and rest shredded thinly)
1 cup green peas
2 green chillies (chopped)
1 tbsp chopped ginger
3 tbsp vegetable oil
a pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp coriander powder
salt and red chilli powder- to taste

Method
1. Wash the shredded cabbage thoroughly and let the water drain.
1. Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a wok/deep pan. Add asafoetida and cumin seeds. As cumin seeds change color a bit, add the ginger and green chillies.
2. Add all the dry spices to the oil and let it simmer for 1 minute.
3. Add the cabbage and peas and mix nicely.
4. Bring the gas flame to medium low, cover the pan partially and let the cabbage and peas cook until tender, well cooked and dry. There shouldn't be any water in the stir-fry. This should not take more than 15-20 minutes. Keep stirring in between.

See, 4 easy steps and what we are left with? A delicious, spicy, dry stir-fry. Enjoy with roti, naan or bread.

PS:You can use the left over stir-fry to fill between 2 slices of bread, add some chopped onions, your favorite sauce and a nice filling sandwich is ready.

Sweet Saffron Rice

2011-05-19T17:20:00.002-05:00

My father-in-law loves these sweet saffron rice and he was asking to make these for such a long time. Somehow whenever I went to Indian store, I forgot to buy the dry coconut which definitely is an important and delicious addition for these rice. This time I made sure I get the dry coconut and make these sweet rice for dad.

These rice are lightly sweetened and full of aromatic spices. Bright yellow color of rice makes them look absolutely stunning. All of us at home enjoyed eating these sweet rice. They are not too much of a work as well. Pretty easy and quick to make.

Oh MY!!My husband's hands are famous :D

Here is the recipe for these delicious Sweet Saffron Rice (Click here for printable version)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup white rice (washed and soaked for 15-20 min)
3 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup dry coconut (chopped into thin slices)
2 tbsp golden raisins (soaked in hot water for 15 minutes)
2 tbsp almonds (soaked, blanched and chopped)
some saffron strands
3-4 green cardamom
3-4 whole cloves
1 stick cinnamon (broken in half)
a pinch of yellow food color
1 tbsp ghee or butter
1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Method:
1. Cook rice in a rice cooker with 3 cups of water until almost cooked. Remove the extra left water.
2. In a pan, heat 1 tbsp of ghee or butter, add cinnamon stick, saffron strands, cloves, green cardamom, almonds, coconut and raisins. Give a quick stir and add sugar.
3. Then add the rice and mix everything with light hands. Add a pinch of food color and mix again so that rice get nicely coated with the food color.
4. Let rice cook with sugar for 5-7 minutes on low heat until almost dry. Keep stirring in between to prevent burning.
5. Switch off the gas and add cardamom powder and mix.

Make sure you serve these warm. Enjoy the gorgeous yellow sweet rice.

Spinach Cheese Swirls

2011-05-14T16:18:00.000-05:00

I am not giving any excuses for not writing for so long but I have been seriously busy! Busy having fun with my in-laws :) I just got home after spending all morning and most of the afternoon in downtown and before I spend rest of my Saturday lazing around, watching movies, taking naps....I promised myself to write the blog quickly and share the recipe for this delicious appetizer. I made these super easy Spinach-cheese swirls for tea yesterday evening. These were so delicious that I overate and then couldn't eat dinner last night.

These are not only easy but quick to put together of course except the thawing time that is required for the puff pastry. I didn't even had to wait impatiently for the pastry to get thaw. I was at the nail spa and I called my husband to take the pastry out of the freezer and by the time I got home it was nicely thawed and all I had to do is put stuff together, fill, roll and bake.

Try out this recipe and you can bake these at your next party and you don't have to tell anyone that how easy these are to make. Make these and flaunt your baking skills :)

Here is the recipe (Click here for the printable version)

Ingredients:

1 puff pastry sheet (thawed per package instructions)

2 cups chopped spinach ( make sure the spinach is well-drained)

1 cups shredded cheese ( I used cheddar jack)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp red crushed pepper (or per taste)

1 tsp Italian seasoning

3/4 tsp basil flakes

some garlic salt (per taste)

some all purpose flour ( to roll out the puff pastry sheet)

For brushing

1 tbsp milk + 1 tbsp melted butter

Method:

1.In a bowl, toss together the spinach, shredded cheese, 1/2 tbsp olive olive, Italian seasoning, red pepper, basil flakes and garlic salt. Mix lightly using a spatula.

2. On a clean surface, sprinkle some all purpose flour and roll out the thawed puff pastry sheet.

3. Brush the inside of the pastry sheet with some olive oil. Spread the spinach cheese mixture evenly on the sheet.

4. Starting from the shorter side, roll the pastry sheet tightly and carefully like a jelly roll.

5. Using a serrated knife, cut the roll into circles and arrange on a baking sheet, cut side down.

6. Brush the cut circles with the milk and melted butter mixture and bake in a pre-heated 425 degree F oven for about 18-20 minutes.

That's it! Isn't it simple? Enjoy the warm appetizers with tea, coffee or your favorite wine.

Eggless Strawberry Mint Ice-Cream

2011-04-25T21:27:00.000-05:00

I feel glad to be back to blogging. I know I was disappeared for so long but I was just so busy enjoying, sightseeing with my in-laws and having fun. We went out of town, and showed them around our area too. Its not that I didn't make any dishes this whole month, I did, but I had already posted all those delicious recipes. So basically, yeah I didn't make anything new. Well....today I did :)

We went strawberry picking too and had awesome time picnicking and picking strawberries off the farm....it's so much fun to pick your own fruits. I made a lot of Strawberry-Cinnamon Jam, ate a lot of them and used the rest of the strawberries to make this delicious Strawberry Mint Ice-Cream.

This creamy delicious ice-cream is eggless, super quick, easy to make and soooooooo delicious.

Here is the recipe (Click here for printable recipe)

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups powdered sugar

2 cups pureed strawberries (just wash, hull and mash the strawberries in a mixer)

1 cup chopped strawberries (optional; we like to have chunks of strawberries in the ice-cream)

14-15 leaves of fresh mint (you can chop them finely or mash in the mixer with the strawberries)

PS: If you plan to use store bought sweetened strawberry pulp, you may not need to add any sugar.

Method:

1. Chill the bowl and beater of your electric mixer in the freezer for 5-7 minutes. Also keep heavy whipping cream chilled until ready to use.

2. Beat the cream in the chilled bowl until it doubles in volume and forms soft peaks.

3. Add the condensed milk and sugar and beat for 30 more seconds.

4. Stop the mixer now; add mashed and chopped strawberries, chopped mint and mix well with the help of spatula.

5. Pour into a airtight container and freeze.

Rich, Creamy and absolutely delicious Strawberry Mint ice-cream is ready!

And you can also make some POPS! :)

Eggless Saffron Pistachio Cookies

2011-04-04T23:03:00.001-05:00

Crunchy, aromatic, perfect for tea cookies. I don't know what came to my mind today, I just suddenly got up and scanned my pantry. Then I picked a few ingredients, mixed those up and baked these delicious cookies! You can also call these cookies- Fusion Cookies!! Why? Because apart from the 2 dominant flavors...Saffron and Pistachio; these cookies have orange and vanilla too....And trust me these are going just so perfect together!

These cookies are so easy and breezy to make. Took 10 min to mix up everything and 12 minutes to bake the cookies!

Here is the recipe (Click here for printable version)

Ingredients:

1 cup less 2 tbsp- all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp- corn starch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp- dried or fresh orange zest
6 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp saffron essence
few strands saffron
few chopped pistachios- for ganish

Method:
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. In a bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add in the vanilla and saffron essence.
3. In a bigger bowl, add all the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix gently making a soft dough.
5. Make small balls and flatten them a bit in-between your palms. Arrange on the baking try keeping some distance in between balls.
6. Now garnish by adding pistachio and saffron strands to the center of each flattened balls.
7. Bake for 12 minutes in the pre-heated oven. Let cookies cool for a 3-4 minutes before removing from the tray and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Is your kitchen filled with aroma already? Mine did....:))

Enjoy!!

And the Winner is........

2011-03-31T22:58:00.000-05:00

First of all Thanks to everyone who participated and sent out the beautiful and colorful entries for the "It's Spring" event. I totally enjoyed reading all the entries, staring at beautiful pictures and mouthwatering recipes. I wish I could taste each and every dish.

We had a difficult time picking the winner since each and every dish was lovely and worth it. My in-laws, husband and I sat down together and picked the winner. But before I announce the name....Let's have a roundup of the event and see all the entries...Shall we?

Shylaja of South Indian Home sent this Beautiful Eggless Princess Cake . I felt like a little girl myself wanting to have this beautiful princess cake for my birthday :)

Namitha and Sunitha of Collaborative Curry sent the Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake and Almond Cookies. Both the entries look so scrumptious and colorful.

Krithi of Krithi's Kitchen sent this bright and pretty Mango Cupcakes. Mango- I say king of all fruits and I say bring it on :)

Divya of Dil se sent these 2 healthy, colorful and lovely entries- Tropical Fruit Salad and Whole Wheat Pasta Salad. I guess these should motivate all of us to eat healthy and stay healthy.

Richa of Ambrosia sent this Papaya and Papad Veggie....I say...very unique..a veggie with ripe papaya and papad!

Priya of Now Serving sent a delicious full meal.....Coconut Rice and Kala Chole! Lovely..Isn't it?

Priya of Priya's easy and tasty recipes...(one of the most active blogger in the blogging world) sent these fruity delicious entries....One is Mango Ice-Cream and the other is Sugarfree Mint and Kiwi Juice. Priya....We have the perfect weather here in Austin right now for the ice-cream and Juice...Mind sending?? :)

Sanyukta of Creative Sanyukta sent this beautiful, very creatively done Spring Beans Salad...It looks sooo appetizing and I am so impressed with the decoration!

Sukanya of Saffronstreaks sent these delicious 2 entries....She sent one savory "Hariyali Methi Chaman" and one sweet.."Mango Kheer".....Perfect combo! Right?

Mahimaa of Indian Vegetarian Kitchen sent this very refreshing and perfect for the weather drink- Strawberry Ginger Lemonade! What r u waiting for? Pick up the glass and gulp it down :)

Smita of Tastebuds sent everyone's favorite....very soft, moist and delicious..ladies and gentlemen....have a look (stare if u please :) ) at Pineapple Pastry!!

Mythreyi of Yum Yum Yum sent this yummy yummy tasty tasty Dill flavored spinach aka Green Rice.

Swapna of Swapna's Cuisine 2 entries-- both gorgeous and delicious looking. I would love to try her Tomato Spinach Cheese Swirl Bread ..it looks so yum! I bet Orange and Cocoa Cake taste as good as it looks...

Aren't all the entries are so lovely and delicious! Don't you just wanna get into your kitchen and try these? I do!

And now the time has come for the announcement ....And the winner to receive a $35 CSN gift card is Sanyukta of Creative Sanyukta!! Congratulations Sanyukta! Your Spring bean salad is beautiful. Everyone in my house is bowled by your creativity. Please look for my email in your inbox.

To all other participants: A big applaud for all of you. We loved your recipes. Thanks for participating.

Enjoy!!

Dahi Bhalla Chaat

2011-03-28T00:21:00.000-05:00

Dahi Bhalla- Deep fried balls of urad dal (black no-skin split gram), spiced, soaked and served in dahi (yogurt). This is one of the most famous street foods of India. These hot deep fried balls are first put in cold water for about 30-40 minutes which makes them super soft and when served in yogurt,spices and chutney, they literally melt in the mouth.

These dahi bhalle were made specially for my father-in-law and I was hoping that they turn out perfect i.e... soft and delicious and they did! Everyone in the family enjoyed these dahi bhalle so very much. I still have some unsoaked one's in the refrigerator, which we can eat whenever we want.

All we gotta do is take them out and soak them in warm water about 30-40 min before adding to the yogurt and they will be ready to serve.

I am sure you can figure out the softness by this pic

These are very easy to make and not much time consuming. Ready for a recipe?

Here it is (Click here for the printable version)

Ingredients:
1 cup urad split no-skin dal
4 cups yogurt (whisked well)
salt- to taste
red chilli powder- to taste
a pinch asafoetida
15-20 raisins
tamarind chutney (See recipe here)
1/2 tsp of roasted cumin powder
1 tsp mango powder
fresh coriander leaves (chopped)
fresh mint leaves (chopped)
Oil- to deep fry

Method:
1. Wash and soak the urad dal in 3 cups of water overnight. Drain off the excess water the next day.
2. Grind the dal to a smooth paste. Whisk some salt, pinch of asafoetida and raisins in the batter.
3. Heat sufficient oil in a deep fry pan or kadhai. Keep the flame to medium low. Drop batter in tablespoon-fulls in the oil carefully and fry until light golden.
4. Drain onto absorbent paper. These are called "Bhalla's".
5. Now soak warm bhalla's in cold water for 30-40 min.
6. In a bowl, whisk yogurt well with some salt and cumin powder. Keep serving bowl ready.
7. Squeeze bhalla's to remove excess water out of them and arrange them in the serving bowl. Cover the bhalla completely with salted yogurt.
8. Sprinkle some red chilli powder, mango powder and cumin powder on the top.
9. Then add some tamarind chutney and finish by sprinkling some chopped coriander and mint leaves.

Enjoy the finger-licking Dahi Bhalla Chaat!

Stuffed Bitter-Gourd Stir-Fry

2011-03-24T17:22:00.000-05:00

I started eating bitter-gourd since last year only. Since childhood, the name of this vegetable didn't please me and I never got through the idea that why on earth people want to eat a bitter stir-fry!! All my childhood and till last year, I stuck by my thinking until my husband once asked me at-least taste it. He told me that you cook it for me but never eat yourself. You should at-least try it once and if you don't like it, don't eat. I tasted, I liked (and thought to myself.....not as bitter as I thought, in fact it's tasty bitter) and I started eating.

Stuffed bitter gourd (called Karela in hindi) served on bed of stir-fried onions makes them a delicious side-dish for your lunch or dinner. Cooked bitter-gourd stays good in refrigerator for about 7-10 days.

Bitter gourd is claimed to stimulate digestion and also help in treating constipation, diabetes, immunization and there are many other medicinal properties. You can read more about it here.

Here is the recipe (Click here for printable version)

Ingredients:
6-7 pieces of bittergourd (the thinner the gourd is, the better it is)
1 large onion (chopped thin and long)
1 small onion (finely minced)
3/4 tsp mango powder (amchur)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
3/4 tsp coriander powder
salt and red chilli powder- to taste
4 tbsp vegetable oil

Method:
1. Peel the serrated cover of bitter-gourds and make a lengthwise slit in the center. Do it with all the bitter-gourds. Rub some salt in and outside of bitter-gourds and put them in warm water for about 2 hours. This process will take care of removing the bitterness of the gourd.
2. Take the bitter-gourds out of water and let them dry a bit.
3. In a small bowl, add the finely minced onions and mix all the dry spices to it including salt and red chilli powder.
4. Using small spoons or hands, stuff the bitter-gourds with the onion mixture. Then tie the gourd with the thread so that the stuffing doesn't come out when we stir-fry it.

5. First heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and stir fry the long-thin onions with little bit of salt and red chilli powder until they turn translucent. Remember to put less of the salt and chilli powder as bitter-gourd stuffing too has the spices.
6. Take these onions out of pan and spread them on your serving plate.
7. Now heat the remaining 3 tbsp of oil in the pan, and stir fry the bitter-gourds while turning them in between, till they get tender and get black marks all over.

Serve the bitter-gourds on the bed of fried onions and enjoy with your favorite Indian bread.

PS: Remember to remove the threads that were tied on the bitter-gourd before eating.

10 days left for the "$35 Giveaway Spring Event"

2011-03-20T21:49:00.000-05:00

Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Spring Event is going to end in 10 days! 30th March is the last day. I am sure you all will love to compete for a $35 gift code to shop at CSN Stores.

I am posting the "It's Spring" event details once again here for you.

Event rules:
1. Two entries per person are allowed. Archived entries can be used only if they are reposted with a new date and a link to this event.
2. Link you entry to this page.
3. Use of logo is mandatory.

4. Only vegetarian entries are allowed (eggs are fine)
5. Submit your entries to my email vbhutani03@gmail.com with the following details:
Your Name:
Blog:
Post title:
Post url:
Image: (size should not be more than 300 pixels)

I will post the round-up on 1st April 2011 and announce the winner. HURRY!! Send your entries and enjoy the SPRING :)

Strawberry-White Chocolate Pound Cake!

2011-03-15T21:40:00.000-05:00

Today I baked this delicious pound cake because I didn't have anything else to do. Yah....I have so much sweets already at home and I just made an addition by making 1 more for our sweet tooth. I first thought of baking a Lemon Pound Cake but since didn't have any lemons at home and just the extract, I decided to do some alterations and make use of fresh strawberries. Since strawberries and chocolate have always been each other's companion, I decided to add some white chocolate chips to keep strawberries company and ofcourse to satisfy the chocolate craving ..LOL.

Cake turned out super-moist and delicious. We enjoyed the cake with tea in the evening. Fresh strawberries are definitely more flavorful than frozen ones and tastes so much better.

Recipe partially adapted from Joy of Baking. (Click here for printable version)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
6 tbsp butter (softened, at room temperature)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon extract
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
1/3 cup white chocolate chips

Method:
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Keep aside.
3. In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed for about 1 minute. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating lightly in between. Whisk in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
5. Blend in the flour mixture and milk alternately in 3 additions, ending with flour.
6. Add the chopped strawberries, white chocolate chips and mix gently, do not over mix.
7. Grease and flour the loaf pan and pour the prepared mixture into the pan.
8. Bake in pre-heated oven for about 50-55 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
9. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, invert on a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Slice and Enjoy! ......Did u just say ...."Yummy"?? :)

Also, Spring Giveaway event is still going on until 30th March 2011.....Rush in your entries!

Sarson ka Saag & Makki ki Roti

2011-03-09T13:01:00.001-06:00

Let me first explain the people who are wondering the meaning of "Sarson" "Saag" "Makki & "Roti" :)
Sarson is "mustard", Saag means "thick curry", Makki is "corn"and Roti is "Indian flat bread". Sarson ka saag (mustard leaves) cooked with spinach leaves and spices is served with makki ki roti (uneven-corn flat bread) topped with butter :) Yummy! This is one of the most famous dishes served in North India.

We all had a wonderful lunch with saag, makki roti both topped with butter, radish and green chillies on the side. Typical punjabi platter. The mustard leaves that we get here in USA are a little different in taste than what we get in India. I also add a small turnip to the "saag" to reduce the bitterness of the mustard leaves.
While I made the "saag", my mother-in-law made the "Makki ki Roti".

Here is my recipe (Click here for printable recipe)

Ingredients:
For Sarson Ka Saag
1 bunch mustard leaves (stems cut and washed thoroughly)
2 cups of spinach leaves (thoroughly washed)
1 small turnip (peeled and washed)
1 cup water
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp chopped ginger
2 green chillies
pinch of asafoetida
1 medium onion (chopped)
1 medium tomato (chopped)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
salt and red chilli powder - to taste
2 tbsp Ghee (clarified butter)
butter cubes- to top on saag and makki roti (optional)

For Makki ki Roti
2 cups corn flour
1 tsp ajwain (carom) seeds
1 tsp salt
Water- enough to knead a soft dough
Some oil to cook the roti (bread)

Method:
For Saag
1. Pressure cook the mustard greens, spinach leaves and the turnip with just 1 cup of water. About 5 min is good.
2. Open the cooker and let the leaves cool down a bit. Then put the mixture along with green chillies and garlic into your blender/chopped and process to a slightly coarse mixture.
3. Heat ghee in a fry pan. Add asafoetida and cumin seeds. When cumin seeds starts to change the color, add ginger and stir fry for a 15-20 seconds. Add in chopped onions and stir fry until onions start to change the color and then add the tomatoes and fry until they are tender and oil starts to leave the sides.
4. Add the dry spices and stir for a few seconds and then add the mustard leaves coarsely blended mixture.
5. Mix well and let it cook on low while stirring in between for about 10-12 minutes until its well cooked.

Top it off with butter while serving.

Makki ki Roti
1. Take corn flour in a mixing bowl and add ajwain and salt to it. Mix well.
2. Adding little water at a time knead a soft dough. Divide dough in 8-9 parts and shape them into a ball.
3. Now dip your hands into dry flour and take one flour ball in your palm. Now start pressing the ball slightly in between your hands slowly.

I am posting this picture below to show how my mother-in-law made it. You can see how soft the corn dough is and how it is made. Since the dough is very soft and tough to handle, this flat bread is usually uneven and small in size.

4. Heat up a griddle and put the roti on it. Cook both sides by spreading some oil on it and turning with a spatula until well cooked.

Serve it hot topped with butter and Sarson ka Saag.....some green chillies (only if u can handle :D ) and red radishes go so well with it as salad. :)

Reminder about $35 Giveaway Event and some awards

2011-03-08T16:08:00.000-06:00

Hello Friends......

I hoping you are enjoying the spring and making lovely dishes as always. I wanted to remind you all about the on-going "It's Spring" Giveaway Event at my blog. Earlier I posted the end date of this event as 15th of this month but now I am extending it till the 30th of March as the spring has recently kicked in and as it blooms to its full swing, I am sure it will bring out more lovely dishes from all of you. Winner will receive a $35 CSN Stores gift code. :)

Please read the rules of the event HERE. Once again event end date is extended till 30th of March, 2011 !

Now time for some Thanks to my buddy bloggers- Indrani from Recipe Junction and Oureyeseatfirst have passed me with this beautiful STYLISH BLOGGER Award.

Thanks guys..I am happy and over-whelmed. Now according to the rules, I have to share seven things about me, which I have already shared and you can read about them HERE.

I would like to pass on these awards to these fellow bloggers:

1. Sanjana from KO Rasoi
2. Priya of http://priyaeasyntastyrecipes.blogspot.com/
3. Swapna of Swapna's Cuisine
4. Priya of http://priyasnowserving.blogspot.com/
5. Gulmohar at http://www.collaborativecurry.com/
6. Ria Mathew at http://riascollection.blogspot.com/
7. http://wildeinthekitchen.blogspot.com/
8. Divya of http://divyascookbook.blogspot.com/
9. Nithya of http://www.4thsensecooking.com/
10. Krithi of http://krithiskitchen.blogspot.com/

Guys, Congratulations. Please collect the award and pass on to 10 bloggers you love and appreciate. And do write 7 thing about yourself so we all can get to know you better :)

HURRY!! Participate in the Spring Giveaway Event!! :)

Banana Walnut Muffins

2011-03-06T21:36:00.001-06:00

Re-doing my post on these yummylicious Banana Walnut Muffins. This was one of my earliest post which totally got unnoticed since I was new to the blogging world and had not come to know all you lovely bloggers. Today when I saw some overripe bananas sitting on my counter, I decided not to let them go waste. My husband loves banana muffins and breads and I wanted my in-laws to try it too so I baked these super soft and delicious banana walnut muffins.

I can't believe I baked these muffins after so long today. Although I couldn't eat any of these since I just got my oral surgery done and my mouth is still sore from the 4 extractions. Hoping these wisdom teeth have not taken my "wisdom" away. LOL

Everyone in the family seemed to enjoy the muffins and that also sets my husband's breakfast for tomorrow morning. :)

Also these are by far the EASIEST and BEST Banana Muffins. This is a fool proof recipe. You gotta try this!

Here is the recipe (Click here for printable version)

Ingredients:

2 large overripe bananas, mashed
1/2 tsp powdered cinnamon
1 tsp banana extract

1/2 cup white sugar

1 slightly beaten egg [if you want to make eggless; replace egg with 1/2 a more banana, simple! :) ]

1/3 cup melted margarine or butter

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Method:

1. Mix the mashed banana, sugar, egg, banana extract and margarine together. Set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and flour.

3. Mix wet and dry ingredients all together, be careful not to over-stir!

4. Throw in the walnuts and mix.

5. Pour into greased muffin tins, or use paper liners and bake in pre-heated 350 degrees oven for approximately 20-25 minutes. Toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

Enjoy as is or spread a layer of butter on warm muffins....Uff Heavenly!! Aren't they?

Dal Makhani (Creamy Black Lentils)

2011-02-27T20:34:00.003-06:00

Dal Makhani is a traditional North Indian signature dish that is not only high in protein but is also very delicious. This particular black dal (Lentil) along with kidney beans is cooked on low flame & cream and/or butter is added to it for the lovely creamy texture. This dal is usually served with Tandoori Roti, Naan (types of indian breads) and even rice. This is the one of the most popular dishes ordered in Indian restaurants.

I made this today for lunch and we all enjoyed it with tandoori roti, salad and pickle. And ofcourse, there had to be a dessert after the meal. So I made all time favorite- Gulab Jamun. (Click to see the recipe)

All in all- a hearty meal. I am sure you will agree with me after looking at the pictures.

The whole spices that are added to the dal gives lovely aroma and taste. Cinnamon sticks, green cardamom, black cardamom, bay leaves are those wonderful, aromatic spices. Now you can imagine how delicious your lunch or dinner going to be when you prepare this dish.

Here is the recipe (Click here for printable version)

Ingredients:
1 cup black lentils (called whole urad dal)
1/4 cup red kidney beans (soaked for 2-3 hours in water)
6 cups water
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 medium onion
2 tomatoes
2 green chillies
1 tbsp chopped ginger
1-2 cloves chopped garlic
1 no. black cardamom
2 nos green cardamom
2 small sticks of cinnamon
1-2 small bay leaves
pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
salt and red chilli powder- to taste
1 tbsp of cream - for garnish
few coriander leaves- for garnish

Method:
1. Pressure cook dal and kidney beans with salt, black cardamom, green cardamom and cinnamon sticks for about 20 minutes on medium low flame. When you open the lid, check to make sure the kidney beans are soft and tender. If they are not, cook on low flame until they are done. You can add more water at this time depending on the amount of water left in the dal.
2. Add the heavy cream to the dal and let it cook on low flame while stirring in between.
3. In a food chopper, finely chop onions, tomatoes, green chillies and garlic cloves together.
4. In a pan, heat 3 tbsp of ghee, add asafoetida and cumin seeds. When cumin seeds starts to change the color, add the bay leaves and ginger. Stir for 10-15 seconds and add the chopped onion tomato mixture.
5. Cook the onion tomatoes mixture for about 8-10 minutes and then add all the dry spices (salt, red chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala). You can add a tbsp of water if the mixture is dry. Let the mixture cook while stirring until the ghee starts to leave from the sides. Switch off the gas.
6. Add the prepared mixture to the dal and mix well. Let dal cook for another 10-12 minutes on low flame. The dal when done should have a thick creamy texture.
7. Add the butter in the end and mix well.

Garnish with cream and coriander leaves right before serving. Serve hot with Roti, Naan, Parantha or Rice.

Enjoy! :)

And yess....Don't forget to send your entries for the ongoing "Spring Event: with a $35 giveaway!

Sugar Glazed Doughnuts

2011-02-25T22:10:00.000-06:00

Firstly I want to remind you all of the on-going $35 giveaway event at my blog which is there until 15th March. So get creative and submit some of your nice entries soon. I look forward to review and enjoy all your recipes.

Now coming to today's post......Sugar Glazed Doughnuts!! I know, I know...u would think so much calories...right? But it's alright once in a while! You can't say "NO" to a doughnut! Can you? I certainly can't. These super soft doughnuts, covered with glazed sugar just melts in your mouth as you bite. My father-in-law likes doughnuts and I decided to gives these a try and surprise him with these home-made doughnuts during tea-time in the evening. Everyone loved and enjoyed the doughnuts and that leaves me excited and happy :)

I didn't know that making doughnuts at home were so easy. I looked up 2-3 websites and liked one video at youtube about the doughnuts recipe. I tweaked the recipe just a little bit and made these. Now we don't need to go to Dunkin Doughnuts anymore, we can make better doughnuts right here at our home and so can you with this super easy recipe.

Here is the recipe ( Click here for printable version)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup warm water (100 degrees temperature)
1/2 package (1 + 1/8 tsp) active dry yeast
2 cups all purpose flour
1 egg
3/4 cup warm milk (100 degrees temperature)
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp butter or margarine (at room temperature)

For Sugar Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp milk (use water for transparent glaze)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp softened butter

Method:
1. In the bowl of your electric mixer, add 1/4 cup of warm water, 2 tbsp sugar and yeast. Let it sit for 10 minutes. The water will become frothy and that ensures that yeast is active.
2. Stir in the lightly beaten egg, butter and warm milk.
3. Add the all purpose flour and knead using the spiral dough hook. Knead until the dough starts to clean the sides of the bowl and is very soft and elastic.
4. Add the dough to a greased bowl, cover and leave for 1 hour or until dough is doubled in bulk.
5. Punch down the dough and roll it to a large rectangle on a floured surface. Using doughnut cutter or cookie cutter or the bottle lids (that's what I used) cut the doughnut rounds and holes (using smaller sauce bottle cover if you are using lids)
6. Collect the scraps, roll it out again and cut more doughnut rounds until all of the dough is used up. I ended up with 14 doughnuts. Leave them again for 30 minutes to puff up.
7. Heat oil in a pan. You need about 1/2 inch of oil not much. Fry doughnuts until light and evenly browned from both sides. Fry all of them and keep on a paper towel to remove excess oil.

For Glaze
1. Put all the ingredients together in a bowl and mix for about 3-4 minutes. It will be smooth and have a shiny glaze.

Now dip doughnuts in the glaze from both sides and keep in a tray. The sugar syrup will settle down in a few minutes. Enjoy the super soft, super delicious and super easy (Too much super? :) ) SUPER doughnuts!! :D

Announcement- An Event with a $35 Giveaway!

2011-02-22T12:54:00.001-06:00

I am so excited that I am going to host my first event in the blogging world. I have participated in a lot of events before and have won two of them with CSN stores gift cards. Have u guys shopped at their stores? They are amazing and have such a vast collection.You can literally buy anything and everything under one roof whether its bakeware, gadgets, small & big appliances to flat panel TV stands. I am enjoying my mixer and panini maker that I bought from their site and plan to shop more. :)

When CSN stores contacted me with an interest to sponsor a giveaway through my blog, I immediately accepted it. Why wouldn't I want to host a giveaway for my dear readers when I know the excitement of winning the same? :)

Instead of urging you all to comment or become my follower ( which I believe you will become if you love my blog), I want you all to get creative, participate in the event. The winner will be chosen based on their creativity in cooking/baking and not by the random number generator. My inlaws are visiting us here and both of them will be involved in the selection along with my husband.

Since Spring has just kicked in and brought this beautiful weather, I thought how about we chose the theme as "Spring"!! I am sure we all imagine colors, flowers, beautiful leaves, freshly planted plants and veggies in the garden..right? So all you got to do is put your imagination to work and cook or bake anything that shows that Spring is here.....Bake anything in the color and shape of flower or leaves; anything vibrant, cook any spring favorite dishes, colorful pops to beautiful gorgeous looking desserts to cookies...there are so many things that you can do!

Event rules:

1. 2 entries per person are allowed. Archived entries can be used only if they are reposted with a new date and a link to this event.
2. Link you entry to this page.
3. Use of logo is mandatory.
4. Only vegetarian entries are allowed (eggs are fine)

5. Submit your entries to my email vbhutani03@gmail.com with the following details:

Your Name:
Blog:
Post title:
Post url:
Image: (size should not be more than 300 pixels)

I will post the roundup and the winner on 16th of March 2011. So get your creative juices together and start cooking/baking :)) Enjoy Spring :)

Valentine Treat- Red Velvet Cake

2011-02-15T23:40:00.001-06:00

I hope all of you had a wonderful Valentine's day with your valentine. I had an awesome day. As always my husband made me feel special with different surprises all day and took me for dinner to an exotic restaurant and my gift was special too :)). As I love to read, my husband gifted me this very thoughtful gift, e-reader called Kindle :)

I too tried to make the day special for him. Apart from the gift, I made special lunch for him and also baked the heart shaped red velvet cake for him. He was pleasantly surprised and loved the cake.Cake not only turned out delicious but beautiful too. As the name says, this cake has a dramatic red color which is usually offset by the white cream icing. I did some little decoration with whatever little time I had in hand before my husband could show up for lunch :)

I was going over the recipes from different sites and loved the presentation and recipe at Wilton's site. I followed the recipe as is from there and the results were gorgeous. I recently order the basic cake decorating set from Wilton and tried a couple of designing tips from there.While working with disposable icing bags (in Wilton set) not only the cake but my clothes ate the icing too :D Hoping to improve with each bake.

Look at the vibrant and beautiful red color with layer of delicious butter-cream icing in between. This is the first time I made the butter-cream icing. It turned out smooth and delicious and very easy to work with.

Here is the recipe (Click here for printable version)

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp red icing color
1/2 tbsp white vinegar

For Icing
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter softened
1 tsp clear vanilla extract ( i just used the regular vanilla extract)
3 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp milk (depending on the consistency you prefer, medium or thin)

Makes 3 cups of icing. Extra can be stored in refrigerator for upto 2 weeks.

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degree F. Prepare about greasing a 9 inch round pan.
2. In a bowl, sift together flour, cocoa and salt. Keep aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs and red icing color; mix well.
5. Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the butter mixture, blending until well blended. Stir baking soda into vinegar and fold into the batter carefully.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting the cake onto cooling rack. Then cool completely.

Icing
In a large bowl, cream shortening and butter with the electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well at medium speed. When all sugar has been mixed, icing will appear dry. Add milk, 1 tbsp at a time and beat well until icing is fluffy and creamy. Keep the icing refrigerated until ready to use.

Assembling the Cake
1. Level the cake by scraping the sides and the top. Then cut the cake into half horizontally using a serrated knife.
2. Spread some icing in between and put the two layers together. Cover the cake completely with icing and smooth it out using flat spatula. Decorate as you please using colors of your choice.

Cool the cake in the refrigerator for a while before slicing. Then...Dig in!! :)

Walnut-White Chocolate Cappuccino Biscotti

2011-02-07T23:45:00.002-06:00

This is my first post this month. We were so tied up all last week with travelling, getting stuck in storm :D and entertaining some friends for the super bowl. While our friends and my DH watched the game, I entertained myself in the kitchen by making appetizers for everyone. I would any day prefer to be cooking/baking than watching football. I know most of u would hate me for saying that, but I just don't get to like this game. :)

Request for biscotti's came from my husband who totally loves having it with his coffee and whenever I bake, I give him a box full to keep in his office drawer which he can munch on while attending some boring conference calls ..lol. This time I wanted to bake different flavors and decided on cappuccino biscotti and I started getting ingredients together, walnuts and white chocolate chips joined the list with a hint of cinnamon which made these biscotti's taste super delicious.

Do try these flavors and I am sure you are gonna love it. Whether you are someone who likes to nibble on the biscotti's or dunk in the coffee, these perfectly baked cookies are gonna steal your heart.

Here is the recipe (Click here for printable version)

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp melted butter
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp + 1 tsp instant coffee/espresso powder
3/4 cup walnuts (chopped and toasted)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Method:
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degree F. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool and chop coarsely
2. In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, coffee powder and salt.
3. In the bowl of your electric mixer, using the paddle attachment,beat the eggs and vanilla extract until combined (about 30 seconds). Add melted butter, milk and sugar, beat until combined
4. Add the flour mixture and beat until a stiff but sticky dough forms, adding walnuts and chocolate chips halfway through mixing
5. With floured hands, divide the dough in half and shape each half into a 10 x 2 inches log on the greased baking sheet with spacing in between as logs will spread during baking
6.Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until firm to touch. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes
7.Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the logs into 3/4 inch (2 cm) wide slices
8. Arrange the slices cut side down on the baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes on each side. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Dunk them in your favorite coffee or munch on them as is. They are delicious and make a perfect afternoon snack.

Going directly to Champa's Bake Off.