Life Scoops

Wheat Bread with Chia and Flax seed (With & Without Bread Machine)

2017-04-19T10:53:00.003-04:00

Some of you following me on Instagram or Facebook might know that I had bought a Cuisinart bread machine recently. Since then, I have been frantically searching for a everyday bread recipe that was healthy as well as tasty. Finally, I have settled on this on this one because it yields a very beautifully risen, moist bread which our family loves. Hope you all like it too. Happy baking !

Recipe adapted mostly from Taste of Home

Ingredients
1/2 cup - Milk (70° to 80°)
1/2 cup - Water (70° to 80°)
1 - Egg, room temperature
3 tablespoons - Honey
2 tablespoons - Butter, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons - Salt
2 cups - Bread flour
1 cup - Whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons - Active dry yeast
Mix-in
1 tablespoon - Chia Seeds
1 tablespoon - Flaxseed meal
For brushing (after baking)
1 tablespoon - Butter, melted

Yield: 1 loaf (1.5 pounds)

Directions for making bread with bread machine

In bread machine pan, place all ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. I have a Cuisinart CBK 200 and they recommend to add wet ingredients first followed by flour and yeast as listed in the ingredients list above.
Select basic bread setting. I choose white bread cycle as wheat bread cycle is too long for this recipe.
Choose crust color and loaf size if available. I choose light crust.
Bake according to bread machine directions (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed).
Add the chia and flaxseed meal when the machine beeps for mix-ins.
Once the bread is ready, take it out of the pan and brush melted butter on all side. This prevents the bread from drying out. Homemade breads are prone to drying and hence I do not recommend skipping this step. You can use extra virgin olive oil too.

Directions for making bread without bread machine

Add yeast to warm milk, water and honey mixture and let it stand for about 5 minutes or until the yeast starts to become frothy.
Add bread flour, wheat flour, chia, flaxseed meal, salt and butter in a large bowl.
Make a well in the flour and to this add beaten egg and yeast mixture. Mix and form a dough. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour depending on the texture of the dough.
Transfer the dough to a big greased bowl. Cover it and allow it to double its size.
Punch the dough and shape the dough like a loaf and transfer it to a greased oven safe dish. If you wish, you can shape the dough like a Boule (artisan free form loaf)
Let the loaf rise a second time and allow it to double.
Bake at 375° for 40-45 minutes.
Once the bread is ready, take it out of the pan and brush melted butter on all side. This prevents the bread from drying out. Homemade breads are prone to drying and hence I do not recommend skipping this step. You can use extra virgin olive oil too.

Notes and Tips

I used King Arthur unbleached bread flour.
You may substitute all purpose flour / maida instead of bread flour but your bread might not rise as much as it would for bread flour.
I used Aashirwaad wheat flour.
You can use this recipe for dinner rolls.

Spiderman Lofthouse Cookies

2017-01-27T16:01:00.001-05:00

My son just turned 2. He is a huge Spiderman fan so I thought of baking some themed cookies for him and his friends. Having seen many professional bakers make the art of cookie decorating seem so effortless I decided to venture into this endevor with some trepidation but a lot of hopeful excitement. I know my cookies are not impeccable but I am glad I made the attempt as it was surely a fun learning experience.

My daughter suggested that we go with her favorite kind of sugar cookies, the Lofthouse . These are soft cake-like baked goodies that taste much better than their ordinary stiff sugar cousins. You can even decorate them to your heart's desire to fit any theme. How about baking some for Valentines day that's just around the corner?

Well it was his brithday and a birthday always needs a cake but I decided to take an unusual path this time. In fact it was not even a traditional cake but it turned out to be such a hit with the George family that it did not last for more than 30 mins, which meant I did not get a chance to click any pictures :( . But do not fret because I am going to make it again due and next time around I will be sure to share it with all you lovely people!

Cookie recipe adapted from here

Frosting recipe adapted from here

Yields : 4 dozen

INGREDIENTS FOR COOKIE DOUGH

1/2 Cup - Sour cream

1 Cup - Sugar

1/2 Cup - Butter, softened

2 - Eggs

1/2 Teaspoon - Vanilla extract

3 Cup - All purpose flour

1 1/2 Teaspoon - Baking powder

1/2 Teaspoon - Baking soda

1/2 Teaspoon - Salt

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKIE

Preheat the oven to 350F
Bring the egg and butter to room temperature.
Combine sour cream, sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla until they are incorporated well.
In another bowl sift and combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add the flour mixture and to the wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
Take the cookie dough and wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes - 1 hour.
For Circular cookies: With a cookie scoop, scoop out the dough and then roll into a ball in your hand and place on a cookie sheet and slightly flatten with your palm so you get a nice circular shape. If the cookie dough tends to stick to your hands refrigerate for some more time.
For Spiderman cookies: Roll the dough (1/2 inch thickness) and used a cookie cutter to cut the dough. I did not have a perfect cookie cutter for this so I used my circular cookie cutter and remolded it into the shape of Spiderman's face.
Bake cookies until light golden brown, around 8-10 minutes (no more than 10 minutes). They may seem under done but they aren't!!
Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before frosting.

INGREDIENTS FOR FROSTING

2 Cup - Powdered sugar, sifted

2 Tablespoon - Corn Syrup

2 Tablespoon - Whole milk

1/8 Teaspoon - Fresh lemon juice

Food coloring (I used Wilton - black, royal blue, red)

Candy sprinkles or colored sugar to decorate

Method 1 : Squeeze bottles – 1 for the border icing and 1 for each color for flood icing/filling

Method 2 : Piping bags and Wilton #1 tip (#2 should be fine too)

Wilton food writer (optional)

DIRECTIONS FOR FROSTING

Sift the powdered sugar.
In a bowl add powdered sugar, corn syrup, milk, lemon juice. Mix until everything is incorporated well. Add the desired color. I divided the frosting into 4 bowls and added red, blue and black color. The last bowl was meant to be white. If the frosting is too thick add a few more drops of milk. The frosting should be thicker for the outline. After the outlines are done you can add a few more teaspoons of milk (flooding consistency) and use it for the filling.
Fill the frosting in the piping bag or squeeze bottle and draw the outlines.
Add few more drops of milk to the frosting and use it for filling the cookie.

Some useful link for cookie decoration

How to decorate cookies with squeeze bottles

Reusing / cleaning piping bags

Video for making the frosting

Nathaniel's First Birthday

2017-01-26T13:01:00.006-05:00

I just thought of sharing my son Nathaniel's first birthday pictures (better late than never right ??). #norecipepost #ilovephotography
I made him a chocolate smash cake and decorated it with buttercream rosettes. You can see in the pictures below that he had the time of his life playing and squishing it !! It was a delight to watch him have fun.

I also made a Lion Cake for him. It was an orange chiffon cake frosted with orange whipped cream. I decorated with cheerios as he loved cheerios then. Design credits of this cake go to Betty Crocker.

Orange Cranberry Zucchini Bread

2017-01-15T16:28:00.001-05:00

Recipe adapted from here

Ingredients

All purpose flour – 3 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon, separated
Cinnamon – 2 teaspoon
Ginger – 1/2 teaspoon, ground
Baking powder – 1 1/2 teaspoon
Baking soda – 1/2 teaspoon
Salt – 1/2 teaspoon
Eggs – 2
Vanilla – 1 teaspoon
Sugar – 1 cup
Brown sugar – 1/2 cup
Vegetable oil – 1/2 cup
Orange Zest – 4 tablespoon
Orange Juice, fresh - 1/2 cup
Zucchini – 2 cups, finely shredded, unpeeled
Cranberries – 1 cup, dried
Pecan - 1/2 cup

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C) .
Line and grease two loaf pans.
Sift flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Beat eggs, vanilla, sugar, brown sugar, oil and orange peel until the ingredients are incorporated.
Add the flour mixture and orange juice in batches, mixing just enough to combine after each addition.
In a small bowl, toss the cranberries and 1 tablespoon of flour.
Add zucchini and cranberries and mix.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pans.
Add chopped pecan on top.
Bake for about 55 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Let the loaves cool in pans for about 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

ORANGE MERINGUE CAKE - Orange Poppy Seed Cake with Orange Curd Filling and Toasted Meringue Frosting

2016-11-11T15:42:00.003-05:00

Hello dear readers, presenting to you a Meringue cake I have been longing to make since last year. Well - finally here it is :) It's a 3 tier orange poppy seed cake drenched with orange syrup. The filling is a lip smacking orange curd bursting with a lovely orange flavor. The cake is frosted with Meringue and toasted with a kitchen torch. I was absolutely thrilled to inaugurate my kitchen torch which made me feel like a true baker.

ORANGE POPPY SEED CAKE
Recipe by Heather, adapted from here
Yields an 8-inch triple layer cake or a double 9-inch layer cake

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups - Sugar
3 - Eggs
1/2 cup - Vegetable oil
1 cup - Sour cream (full fat)
1 1/3 cups - Buttermilk
1 teaspoon - Vanilla extract
2 tablespoon - Orange zest
3 tablespoons - Poppy seeds
3 1/2 cups - Cake flour
1/4 teaspoon - Salt
3 teaspoons - Baking powder

Directions

Prepare pans by greasing and lining them with parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Whisk sugar, eggs, and oil. To this mixture, add sour cream, buttermilk, vanilla, orange zest, and poppy seeds and mix well
Sift the flour, salt and baking powder.
On low speed, add the flour 1 cup at a time and beat until all the ingredients are incorporated well.
Divide the batter into the three 8" prepared pans. Wrap each cake pan with a "bake even strip" or a wet towel strip.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cakes spring back when pressed in their centers.
Let the cakes cool in pans for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto wire racks to cool completel

ORANGE CURD
Recipe by Elise Bauer, adapted from here

Ingredients
1/8 cup - Fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoons - Gelatin (unflavored)
3/4 cups - Sugar
1/2 cup - Orange juice
4 large - Egg yolks
1 1/2 tablespoons - Orange zest
1 teaspoons - Lemon zest
6 tablespoon or 3/4 stick - Butter (unsalted ,cut into 1/2-inch cubes)

Directions for Orange Curd

In a bowl, add lemon juice and gelatin. Let sit for 15 minutes.
In a thick-bottomed saucepan, add sugar, orange juice, egg yolks, orange zest and lemon zest and whisk.
Add the butter and whisk over medium heat until the mixture thickens and bubbles start to appear at the edge of the pan, about 9 minutes.
Remove from heat and add in the gelatin mixture. Whisk the mixture until the gelatin dissolves.
Sieve the curd to discard any lumps.
Store the curd mixture in a bowl and place a parchment paper directly over the surface of the curd.
Refrigerate overnight or at least for 5 hours.

ORANGE SYRUP
1/4 Cup - Fresh Orange Juice
2 Teaspoon - Sugar

Directions for orange syrup

In a bowl mix orange juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved.

MERINGUE FROSTING
Recipe by Tessa Huff, adapted from here

Ingredients
3 - Large egg whites
3/4 cup - Sugar
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon - Vanilla extract
Kitchen Torch (for toasting)

Directions for Meringue Frosting

* Work with egg whites at room temperature.
In a dry and clean stainless steel bowl, place the whites and sugar.
Fill a saucepan with water and place it over medium heat. Now place the bowl with egg whites on top of the saucepan to create a double boiler.
Whisk the egg white mixture just until the sugar dissolves. The mixture should be warm to touch. Make sure you dont overcook your egg white. This will ruin your meringue.
Beat the egg whites on high until medium-stiff glossy peaks appear. Add in the salt and vanilla and whisk until combined. *Use immediately!

ASSEMBLING THE CAKE

Place the first cake on the cake board or serving platter.
Brush the cake with orange syrup
Pour the orange curd in the middle of the cake and spread it with a spatula.
Place the second cake and brush it with the orange syrup and spread the orange curd on it.
Now place the last cake on top and add the orange syrup and orange curd.
Frost the whole cake with meringue. It does not have to look perfect.
Fire up the kitchen torch and hold the torch about 5 - 6 inches away from the meringue and toast the meringue.

Beados themed Chocolate & Vanilla Checkerboard cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream

2016-10-22T19:28:00.000-04:00

Hello my dear readers : I am sharing a cake that I made for my daughters 7th birthday. Her newest craze is for Beados. Doesn't ring a bell? Here is what it is. They are some magic beads that you use to create colorful and fun designs. Just lay out your design in the special Beados tray, then spray them with water and your artwork will magically set in place.

I love "Surprise-inside" cakes and I have been longing to make this checkerboard cake ever since my best friend from college, Shalini had made it. She has been such an inspiration to me over the years as she is ultra talented and an amazing person!

Recipe adapted from here. Thanks Korena!

This recipe makes a 6" six layered cake.

Vanilla Cake (Makes 3 six inch cakes)

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup - Cake flour

1 1/8 Teaspoon - Baking powder

1/4 Teaspoon - Baking soda

1/4 Teaspoon - Salt

1 - Egg + 1 egg yolk (save the egg white for the buttercream)

1/2 cup - Milk

1/4 cup - Sour cream

3 Tablespoon - Vegetable oil

3 Tablespoon - Butter, melted

3 Teaspoon - Vanilla extract

3/4 cup - Sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
Grease and line the pans with parchment.
Sift the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Keep aside.
In a bowl, whisk the egg, egg yolk and sugar.
Add milk, sour cream, oil, melted butter, vanilla and whisk well until all the ingredients have been incorporated.
Add the dry ingredients 1/2 cup at a time and whisk.
Divide the batter into the 3 prepared 6 inch pans.
Wrap each pan with a wet towel strip - I really recommend not skipping this step as this gives you a evenly risen cake which is crucial for a checkerboard cake.
Bake the cakes for 12- 15 mins or until the toothpick come out clean when inserted into the baked cake.
Let the cake cool for 10 mins. Invert on a wire rack and let the cake cool completely. Assembling the checkerboard cake is easier if the cakes are chilled because it makes them firm and easy to handle. Hence it is recommended that you chill the cakes for for a few hours or overnight. Make sure you place parchment paper in between the cakes and plastic wrap them.

Chocolate Cake (Makes 3 six inch cakes)

Ingredients

6 Tablespoon - Hot coffee

1 oz - Dark chocolate, finely chopped

3/4 cup - All purpose flour

1/4 cup - Dark cocoa powder

3/4 Teaspoon - Baking soda

3/8 Teaspoon - Baking powder

1/8 Teaspoon - Salt

3/4 cup - Brown sugar

3 - Egg

3 Tablespoon - Milk

3 Tablespoon - Sour cream

2 1/2 Tablespoon - Vegetable oil

1/2 Teaspoon - Vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
Grease and line the pans with parchment.
In a microwave safe bowl, add the hot coffee and chocolate and heat it for 1 minute or until the chocolate melts. Set it aside to cool
Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk the eggs and brown sugar.
Add milk, sour cream, oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk well.
Mix in the coffee-chocolate mixture.
Add the dry ingredients 1/2 cup at a time and whisk until incorporated.
Divide the batter into the 3 prepared 6 inch pans.
Wrap each pan with a wet towel strip - I really recommend not skipping this step as this gives you a evenly risen cake which is crucial for a checkerboard cake.
Bake the cakes for 15-18 mins or until the toothpick come out clean when inserted into the baked cake.
Let the cake cool for 10 mins. Invert on a wire rack and let the cake cool completely. Assembling the checkerboard cake is easier if the cakes are chilled because it makes them firm and easy to handle. Hence it is recommended that you chill the cakes for for a few hours or overnight. Make sure you place parchment paper in between the cakes and plastic wrap them.

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream - Martha Stewart recipe (Makes approx 5 cups)

(I made only 5 cups of buttercream but that was barely enough to bind the cake rings, add in between layers and coat the cake. If you like buttercream, I highly recommend to double this recipe below)

Ingredients

5 - Egg whites

1 Cup + 2 Tablespoon - Granulated white sugar

Pinch of Salt

1 pound (4 sticks) - Unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temperature

1 1/2 Teaspoons - Vanilla extract

Few drop - Yellow gel color

Directions

Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved.
Use the wish attachment of the stand mixer. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 10 minutes.
With mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Once all butter has been added, whisk in vanilla.
Switch to the paddle attachment, and continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes.
Scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula, and continue beating until the frosting is completely smooth. Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day.
To tint buttercream add the gel food color and mix.

Assembling the cake

Tools and Ingredients required

Cake leveler (Available at Walmart or Amazon) OR use a serrated knife

2 cardboard circular cut outs measuring 4 inch and 2 inch OR Cookie Cutter (4" and 2")
Colorful sprinkles

Directions:

Trim off the cake using a cake leveler or serrated knife. All the cakes should be of the same height.

Almond Joy Cake (Layered chocolate cake with coconut filling, almonds, coconut buttercream & chocolate ganache)

2015-10-22T01:00:00.000-04:00

This past week my little angel turned six and I wanted to bake something special for her. Given the choice to select her theme her obvious answer was "a princess cake". We logged into Pinterest to browse through a few cake ideas and short-listed a few. While gawking at the beautiful cakes her eyes were always resting on the chocolate ones too so I asked her if she wanted something that tastes good, or looks pretty and colorful like a princess cake. She paused for a while and then started chanting "eenie meenie minie moe ". I was just wishing that she landed on the chocolate option which was going to be relatively easier for me to make and also would be better enjoyed by the whole family. I got lucky - She opted for chocolate !!!

That evening I went shopping for her birthday gifts and also ended up picking up some of her favorite candy "Almond joy" as a filler for her birthday gift bag. While driving back home it hit me that her fave candy could just be theme I was looking for and it might just make her a day if she was to get a whole "almond joy" cake instead of just plain chocolate....so here we are...

Hope you all enjoy this cake as much as we did. This is my first blog post after my son, Nathaniel was born. I never even thought I would be able to blog again so right now I am feeling accomplished and overwhelmingly thankful to my family for all the support they give me by inspiring me.

Ingredients

2 - 8 inch chocolate cakes (Recipe here. I made one batch of this recipe without adding the orange zest and got two 8" cakes)

Coconut Buttercream

2 sticks (1/2 pound) - butter, room temperature

2.5 teaspoon - coconut extract

4 cups - powdered sugar

½ cup - heavy whipping cream

Coconut filling

1 cup - coconut buttercream (from above)

1/4 cup - powdered sugar

1/4 cup - heavy whipping cream

1 Cup - unsweetened grated coconut

1/4 or 1/2 cup - sliced almonds (use according to your preference)

Chocolate Ganache

1 cups - semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup - heavy whipping cream

Decoration

1/4 cup - sliced almonds

1/4 cup - grated coconut

Tools (optional)

Wilton Cake leveler (You can get it here)

Wilton decorating triangle (You can get it here)

Directions for cake

Bake two 8 inch cakes as per the recipe provided in the link above. Do not add the orange zest mentioned in the recipe.
Allow the cakes to cool completely and level them using a cake leveler. You can use a long serrated knife if you don't have a cake leveler.

Directions for the coconut butter cream

Whip the butter on medium speed for 3 minutes until really smooth.
Add the coconut extract and mix again.
Mix in the powdered sugar little by little and whip until the sugar is incorporated well
Add 1/2 cup of heavy cream and whip well.

Directions for the coconut filling

Take 1 cup of the prepared coconut buttercream, powder sugar and grated coconut and mix well.
To this mixture add 1/4 cup whipping cream and beat for 2-3 minutes.
Stir in the sliced almonds.

Directions for chocolate ganache:

Place the chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of heavy cream in a heat safe dish. Boil water in a pan which is big enough to hold the dish with chocolate chips. Place the dish with chocolate chips over the boiling water allowing it to melt and incorporate with the heavy cream. Remove from heat when the chocolate completely melts.
Allow the chocolate ganache to cool for 10 minutes.

Assembling the cake

Place the first cake on the cake stand. Spread the filling evenly on top (as shown in the picture collage)
Carefully align and place the second cake on top.
**If you are decorating the cake with frosting, set aside about 1/2 cup of buttercream.
Frost the first coat of frosting on the cake, making sure that the cake looks even. The first coat of buttercream is called crumb coating and your cake might look similar to what you see in the collage shown below. It is perfectly fine if you see cake crumbs.
Place the cake in the fridge for 30 minute - 1 hour
Take the cake out and slather the remaining butter cream on the cake. Try your best to get a nice finish and a smooth surface. I used the Wilton decorating triangle on the side of the cake to get a contoured effect to iced cake.
Once you are finished frosting the cake, slowly pour the ganache over the iced cake and let it flow over the edges of the cake for the dripping effect
Fill the icing bag with the remaining frosting (I used the Wilton 2D tip) and decorate over the edges of the cake.
Garnish with shredded coconut and sliced almonds.

Pistachio flavored Hydrangea Cupcakes

2014-11-03T16:49:00.000-05:00

She's a little bit of sunshine,
    She's a smile to light your days,
    She will steal your heart and
    keep it with her warm endearing ways,
    She's your precious little daughter,
    With a sweetness from above
    Who will fill your years with laughter
    and your lives with lots of love

~ Anonymous

If you have been following my blog you would know that I love photography as much as I love cooking and baking. I like to capture snippets of my life and various milestones in the form of pictures and that’s the main reason I love Instagram, where you speak and express through pictures. To reveal a quirk of mine though - as much as I love photography, I hate posing for pics which is why you would rarely find my selfies or pictures. But I am glad my daughter has taken on her dad and loves posing for mommy. Here are a few pictures I took for her 5th birthday (Yep - she is already 5 - time flies !!!).

Every year for my daughter's birthday I make an elaborate cake. This year even though I was pumped up in spirit I just could not muster the energy to get into the whole physical process. So I decided to cheat a little (well a lot ;) ) by using a cake mix. I jazzed up these cupcakes and made them pistachio flavored by adding Jell-O pudding mix. This addition not only enhanced the flavor but also gave the cupcakes a cute pastel green color. Quite a few went into our bellies before getting frosted :) This is how they looked before they got frosted.

I frosted the cupcakes with simple vanilla butter cream frosting. I used shades of pink, blue and purple to make them look like Hydrangea flowers. And finally added some sugar pearls to make them prettier. You can choose any color combination you like but I wanted these cupcakes to resemble real flower so choose blue & purple for one set and shades of pink for another set. My daughter took these cupcakes to school and obviously the boys got to eat the blue ones and the girls preferred the pink.

After frosting the cupcakes I had a challenge to take a picture that would showcase both the blue and pink colored cupcakes together. After a few failed attempts I took a walk outside my house thats when my eyes spots these pretty vines and I came up with the above arrangement. I was pretty pleased with how it looked finally !

Yields: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients for cupcakes

1 box - White or yellow cake mix & the ingredients that the recipe calls for (I used Betty Crocker)

1 box - Jell-O Pistachio pudding mix

Directions for cupcakes

Follow the directions on the cake box and mix all the ingredients along with the pudding mix.
Line the cupcake tray with cupcake-liners
Fill the batter in the cupcake-liners up to the halfway mark
Bake as per package directions and let the cupcakes cool on a cooling rack before frosting them.

Ingredients for frosting
1/2 Cup - Butter (at room temperature)
3 1/2 Cups - Confectioners' sugar / powdered sugar
1 1/2 Teaspoon -Vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon - Whipping cream (optional)
Wilton 2D tip (closed star)
Piping bag or Ziploc bag
Food Color of your choice (I used pink, blue and purple)

Directions for frosting

Whisk the confectioners' sugar, butter, vanilla essence on lowest speed.
Once the ingredients incorporate and turn into a homogeneous mixture, increase the speed and whisk for another 3-5 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy.
Divide the frosting into 2 parts (one for the pink hydrangea flowers and the other for blue hydrangea flowers)
For pink hydrangea flowers, I divided the frosting into 3. I added a pink color to the first part to get a dark pink color. To the second part I added fewer drops to get a light pastel pink color and to the 3 part I didn't add any color.
Fit the 2D tip onto the piping bag and fill it 3 colors (dark pink, pale pink and white) in equal proportion, side by side. Now start piping large star shapes around the edges of the cupcakes, then moving to the center.
For the blue hydrangeas, I divided the frosting into 2. To the first portion I added blue color and to the rest I added purple color. Then I filled the piping bag with both the colors side by side and started decorating as mentioned above.

Note and Tips

If the icing gets very soft, then place the piping bag in the fridge. This will make the frosting firmer and easier to handle
I made the cupcakes and frosting 1 day ahead of the party. But if are using it the same day feel free to add 1 tablespoon of whipping cream to it to make the frosting fluffier.
Watch this tutorial from Rosie Cake Diva for more tips on piping the flowers.

Dum Aloo (Golden fried potatoes simmered in spiced yogurt)

2014-03-21T23:23:00.004-04:00

You are a a projection of your parents - I believe this is so true in every sense...How you behave, your food preferences, your lifestyle, how you dress, your spirituality everything that constitutes "you" is almost always directly proportional to your parents and upbringing. This might be a crazy notion but I was recently left pondering about my cooking style and how dishes that come out of my kitchen are so much like my mom's! Even though we hail from southern India, my mom always tries her hand at a variety of north Indian and international recipes.

My dad served the Indian Air Force and was posted at various states across India and hence my mom had friends from various regional backgrounds, which did influence her cooking style.

I still remember her making Dum Aloo that was finger licking good and my sister and I used to love it. When my sister heard that I had made this dish last week she immediately went and bought some baby potatoes and cooked some for her family. The recipe here is similar to my mom's but I have adapted some tips from Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe in which he grinds dry red chillies to impart a beautiful color and flavor to this dish. Garlic is not typically used in Dum Aloo but my mom used to add it and I have also followed suit here because I love the flavor. This dish also works out equally well without it so feel free to opt out of this step.

Another special ingredient that I have used here is Black Cardamom which has a completely different flavor profile compared to its green counterpart. Unlike green cardamom, this spice is rarely used in sweet dishes. Its smoky flavor and aroma are derived from traditional methods of drying over open flames and I just love it in north Indian dishes. If you haven't used this before I highly recommend it.

This dish derives its name from the technique used to cook it. Dum refers to the traditional way of slow cooking in sealed dishes to retain the quality of spices and the aroma from them. Aloo is nothing but potatoes in Hindi (India's national language)

The potatoes are deep fried to a nice golden color and then simmered in a deliciously spiced yogurt gravy. This is a truly addictive dish - mark my words!!! ;)

Ok- without further ado I present to you gorgeous Dum Aloo

Ingredients
1.5 pounds (680 grams) - Baby potatoes
5 - Kashmiri dry red chilly
3 Clove - Garlic
2 Cups - Yogurt
3 Teaspoon - Fennel Powder/ Saunf
1 Teaspoon - Dry Ginger Powder
1/4 Teaspoon - Black cardamon powder
1/2 Teaspoon - Cumin powder
1 Teaspoon - Paprika or Kashmiri chilly powder (optional)
1/8 Tsp - Asafetida
1 Tablespoon - Ghee
1/2 Teaspoon - Garam Masala
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying the potatoes
To Garnish
Cilantro/ Coriander Leaves
Slivered almonds

Serves 4-6
Directions

Wash the baby potatoes and cook them in the pressure cooker just for a few minutes. Make sure not to overcook them otherwise they will not retain their shape during further cooking
Peal the potatoes sprinkle some salt and keep them aside
Take a wok/kadai and heat the oil for deep frying the potatoes.
Once the oil is hot, add the potatoes and fry them until they are golden brown.
Add the dry red chilly and garlic in a blender and grind them into a smooth paste
In a bowl add yogurt, chilly paste from above, fennel powder, dry ginger powder, black cardamom powder, cumin powder, and paprika(optional) and whisk.
Heat ghee in a wok/kadai that has a lid.
Lower the heat and add asafetida, followed by the spiced yogurt mixture and fried potatoes
Season with salt and cover the wok/kadai with the lid. Traditional method involved sealing the dish with dough.You can do it if you have the time but it is optional.
Open the lid and sprinkle garam masala.
Serve with Roti, Naan or Rice

Notes and Tips

Paprika or Kashmiri chilly powder is just for the red color. It is optional
Traditionally garlic is not used in this dish but I love the flavor it imparts to this dish so I have used it. You can opt it out
Buy uniform sized baby potatoes to ensure that they cook evenly
I love the taste of black cardamon. Black Cardamon has got a completely different flavor profile compared to its green counterpart. Unlike green cardamom, this spice is rarely used in sweet dishes due to its smoky flavor. It derives it's flavor and aroma from the traditional methods of drying over open flames. It should be available in Asian/ Indian stores.

Rasgulla

2014-03-17T21:27:00.005-04:00

Happy Holi to all my friends who celebrate the festival of colors!

Growing up in India and spending the early part of my childhood in Delhi and Bangalore I was fortunate enough to play and enjoy Holi. I used to look forward to playing with my pichkari (water gun) and slathering friends and family with gulaal (colored powder). One of my favorite and unforgettable memories from those days was a Holi party my parents taking me to. My sister and I were super excited. I remember barely being able to contain my excitement as we reached the venue that as soon as the car door opened I was off running. The huge stereo speakers were blasting out Amitabh's Rang barse bhige chunar wali rang barse song and people were splashing colors and dancing to the tunes. Well, being in my heightened levels of excitement as I ran towards the center of the party hall I dint notice the water tank filled with colored water and guess what, yes, I tripped and fell right into it. I was literally drenched in color and my friends had a great laugh over it. I was not a happy camper anymore and the rest of the day my main objective was to lure my friends near the tank and trying to push them into it. Unfortunately I was not too successful but I must say, I did immerse my self well into the Holi spirit...

Let's celebrate Holi at LifeScoops with some Rasgulla. It is a traditional Indian sweet made of homemade cheese dumplings soaked in sugar syrup.

Rasgulla originated in the state Odisha (formerly known as Orissa) centuries ago. Soon it gained popularity in Bengal and has now become one of the most sought after sweets in India

Recipe mostly adapted from Manjula Aunty

Yields: 18- 20 Rasgullas
Ingredients
6 cups - Milk (full fat or at least 2%)
3 tablespoon- Lemon juice
2 1/2 cups sugar
6 cups water
1/4 Teaspoon - Cardamom
Cheese cloth
Pressure cooker

Granish (optional)
Pistachios
Saffron

Directions

To make paneer/ chenna

In a small bowl mix lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of water and keep it aside.
Add milk to a sauce pan and allow it to boil. Keep stirring it to avoid the milk from burning
When the milk come to a rolling boil, add the lemon juice mixture. You will notice that the milk will curdle and turn into cheese/paneer/chenna.
Line a huge strainer with cheese cloth and strain the paneer from the whey
Run cold water on the paneer and wrap it in a cheese cloth squeezing out water.
Hang the cheese cloth or keep a heavy dish on paneer to drain out remaining water.
Once the paneer is dry knead it for at least 5 minutes. You should have a pliable dough.
Divide the paneer into 18-20 balls and roll in between your plams to make them smooth. (These balls will almost double their size during the cooking process)

To make Rasgulla

Mix the sugar, water and cardamom powder in a pressure cooker and bring to a boil.
Once the sugar syrup has thickened a little add the paneer balls carefully
Close the pressure cooker and after the first whistle cook for about 8 minutes
Take the pressure cooker off the heat and run cold water on it to stop the cooking process.
Once the steam has died, open the cooker
Refrigerate the Rasgulla's
Serve chilled

Notes and Tips

During the cooking process the Rasgulla's almost double their size so make sure you use a big pressure cooker. If you have a small one I recommend you cook them in batches.
Use 2% or full fat milk

Breakfast Pizza with Eggs and Bacon

2014-03-13T21:16:00.002-04:00

Remember the previous post on Pizza Dough and my promise to you that I would come up with new and interesting pizza recipes? Here is an easy one "Breakfast pizza" - Now doesn't that sound good? I tried this pizza at home recently and my family loved it. I am so glad to share my kitchen adventures with you.

Yields: 1 extra large pizza

Ingredients

Pizza Dough for extra large pizza (Recipe here)

4 Eggs

1 1/2 tablespoon - Olive oil

1/4 Teaspoon - Dry Oregano
1/4 Teaspoon - Dry Rosemary

1 Clove - Garlic, finely grated

1/4 Cup - Red Onions, sliced

1/2 Cup - Mozzarella cheese

1/2 Cup - Cheery Tomatoes, sliced

Salt and pepper as per taste

Garnish
1 tablespoon - Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5 slices - Bacon, cooked and chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven at 400F
Roll and stretch the dough and set it on a pizza pan
In a small bowl add olive oil, finely grated garlic, oregano and rosemary
Using a brush, apply the herb oil mixture on the dough
Add the cheese, cherry tomato and onions
Crack the eggs on top and season with salt and pepper
Bake for 15- 20 minute at 400F
Add the cooked bacon
Drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top and add the bacon. Serve warm

Homemade Freezer Friendly Pizza Dough + Tips on freezing Pizza Dough

2014-03-07T23:40:00.001-05:00

Last weekend my husband was traveling for school and the weather outside was so dull and frigid that I just felt like hibernating under the blanket all day. But then, with an ever energetic 4-year old who wakes me every morning stating "Mama I hungry- can you please give me some breakfast", lazing around all day is simply out of question as my conscience pricks and I drag myself to the kitchen. My munchkin is not a big trouble at all as she is very understanding and I am so glad she likes cereal, because some days cooking up a fancy meal just seems like a lot of work

Sleep deprivation and the drab weather was rapidly killing whatever mojo I had left but when I saw my Nikon D-5000 staring at me from the fireplace mantle I suddenly got an adrenaline boosting idea. Just what I needed to make myself cheerful and pumped up! I checked my draft blog folder and decided to go for the freezer friendly pizza dough.

To me food photography has turned into an obsession and that might be quite evident to you if you follow me on instagram, facebook or twitter. It was extremely strenuous to click the first picture as my husband was out of town but I wanted to capture the kneading process. I had to do a lot of running around but with the timer and tripod I was able to manage a decent shot. I was glad with the outcome

Here at the George's family we welcome pizza anytime of the day - breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or even as a snack - why not right? I often make pizza during the weekends as I prefer homemade dough but it used to be pretty time intensive until I realized that pizza dough could be frozen. Ever since, I have been freezing my dough and using them when needed. Fresh homemade pizza even on a weekday sounds good right? All you have to do is remember to transfer the dough from the freezer to the fridge the night before.

I have several batches of pizza dough in my freezer and will be posting some interesting Pizza recipes.

An article from Seriouseats explained to me how freezing the dough dint impact the dough at all and here are a few key points that explains the science behinds it:

You can freeze a homemade dough at essentially any point in the process and it'll work just fine. In terms of the gluten structure and the interaction of flour and water, freezing has no ill-effects.

Yeast are perfectly happy to take a nap in the freezer because their activity is largely dependent on the temperature of the environment they are in. At higher temperatures, yeast becomes wildly active, reproducing like mad, and consuming sugars. But when you chill them, and their activity will get slower and slower until, when you finally freeze the dough, they utterly stop, becoming inert until you defrost them again.

Yields: 1 Extra Large Thick Crust Pizza

Ingredients
1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/4 cup warm water (add a few tablespoons more if using flax seed meal)
1 Tsp - Salt
1 Tsp sugar
3 tablespoons oil
2 cups - Whole wheat flour
1 Cup - APF
1 Tablespoon - Flaxseed powder (optional)
Oil Spray

Directions

Dissolve the yeast in 1 1/4 cups of warm water (105- 110 F). Add sugar and set it aside for 5 minutes or until slightly frothy
Take a large bowl and add the salt, oil, flour, and flax seed meal and give it a stir.
Add yeast-water mixture and the flour and knead and form a dough. If you have a food processor or stand mixer with dough hook, use it to knead the dough. It is much faster and less messy. The dough should be slightly sticky.
Place the dough in an oiled bowl. Smear some oil on the dough before proofing and cover the bowl with a wet towel to prevent the dough from drying out
Keep it in a warm place and let it rise to double its size.
Punch down the dough. Spray some oil on it and transfer it to a Ziploc bag. Be sure to squeeze out any air from the bag.
Store it in the freezer.

Thawing process

Transfer the frozen dough from freezer to the fridge and leave it overnight or for about 12 hours.
Before making the pizza, allow the dough to rest on at room temperature for at least 1 hour before stretching out the pizza.

Notes and Tips

If you don't like wheat flour pizza because of the taste or texture, you can substitute wheat flour with all propose flour
Spray the food processor work bowl / stand mixer bowl with oil before you start kneading the dough for easier clean up
Before touching the dough with your hands make sure to oil them. It is so much easier to work with the dough when your hands are oiled
Make sure the proofing bowl is big enough to hold the dough which might double in size.If you use a small bowl for proofing the dough might rise and overflow or stick to the wet towel which is very messy
If you are using flax seed meal use a couple of tablespoons of water extra.
The dough should be good in the freezer for up to 2 months

Insanely Easy Magic Custard Pie

2014-02-17T10:03:00.001-05:00

True to its name, the Magic Custard Pie is indeed a magical production. The batter is whipped up in a couple of minutes and is mystically transformed into the crust as well as the filing. Now doesn't that sound easy and worth a try? I was immediately attracted to this recipe for its simplicity and speed-to-table with its easy 3 steps- "Mix + Pour + Bake"

While waiting through the bake process, I usually have this crazy habit of keeping my oven lights on and peeking through the glass for real-time feedback of the baking process, wondering how it would finally turn out. I was quite intrigued with the idea of one batter turning into these amazing layers of pie, with its slightly golden crust and custard-like filling that reminded me of flan.

The best part of this pie is that it is versatile and can be enjoyed in different ways - we usually devour it with fresh berries and a drizzle of warm chocolate sauce or just a plain old slice with some powdered sugar. Salted caramel sauce or fudge sauce will also be great ways to enjoy this.

Recipe adapted from here

Yields - 9 inch pie
Ingredients
1/4 Cup or 1/2 stick - Butter
4 - Eggs
1 Cup - White sugar
1/8 Teaspoon - Salt
2 Cup - Milk 2% or full fat
3 Teaspoon - Vanilla extract
1/2 Cup - All purpose flour
Optional Garnish: Fresh Berries, Chocolate Sauce, Powdered sugar

Direction

Preheat the oven to 350F
Grease a 9 inch pie pan
Put all ingredients into a blender and blend to incorporate all the ingredients together.
Pour into buttered 9 inch pie pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Notes and Tips

The batter might look curdled because of lumps of butter, but that is fine.
The pie puffs up when it is ready and sinks when it taken out. This is perfectly normal and that is how is is supposed to be.
You can try to make a citrus custard pie by adding lemon or orange zest to the batter. It is extremely delicious that way too
The pie is supposed to be jiggly.
Take the pie out of the oven and let it rest for 20-30 minutes before cutting it. This will ensure clean edges

Bacon wrapped Jalapeño Popper with Cream Cheese filling

2014-02-12T18:41:00.001-05:00

Bacon has this uncanny ability to make everything better - Aint that true? I bet this is a mutual observation among many of you as well. I love bacon but I hardly eat or buy any unless I am at a brunch buffet or having some friends over. This time the later scenario was my excuse to indulge in some greasy smoky slabs of meat, in the form of Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers. Yumm!!!

It has been 2 weeks since Super bowl but I am still talking about it because I have yet another appetizer that I had prepared for game day that I think you all might enjoy. I usually plan my menu well in advance and this game day party was no different. I planned to make the Asian meatballs, 3-cheese spinach and artichoke dip and these bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers.

On Friday night, after work and picking up my daughter from daycare, I hit the stores to check off my long grocery list and seemed to make great progress until I realized that the store had run out of Jalapeños. There's no way I could make bacon wrapped jalapeños poppers without the poppy Jalapeños, is there ??? Well, its not in my DNA to give up so I decided to brave the freeze and snow and ventured out to a few other stores. Alas, almost every place I checked was out of this key ingredient and finally I dragged myself to the last option I had in the neighborhood. Well, the good news was that they did carry jalapeños but I found myself looking down at a small box of shriveled, slightly rotting jalapeños. Dejected and ready to call it a day, I wearily turned to head back out when I heard my daughter saying hi to a store-helper passing by and seeing my forlorn face he asked me if he could help. Well, as luck would have it, he went to the storage area and came back with a big box full of fresh jalapeños. I was simply overjoyed and grinning ear-to-ear by now. Noticing my uncontainable sense of joy, he asked me what I was going to do with these many jalapeños and when he heard about the bacon wrapped poppers I noticed a twinkle in his eye as he responded - "that definitely sounds good".

well, my friends - I present to you a mark of true grit, commitment and hard work - "bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers"

Yield: 40 appetizers
Ingredients
20 - Jalapeños, fresh
2 Tablespoon - Butter /Oil
4 Clove - Garlic
1 Cup - Green Onions/Scallions/ Spring Onions, sliced
8oz or 1 block - Cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 Cup - Bread Crumbs or Panko bread crumbs
2 pounds - Bacon
Toothpick

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F.
Cut the jalapeños lengthwise into two and remove the seeds and membranes.
Melt the butter in a non stick pan.
Add the chopped garlic and saute for a minute.
Mix in the green onions/scallions ans saute until the are wilted, about 5 minutes.
Add cream cheese and mix well.
Take the pan off the heat and add the bread crumbs and mix.
Stuff each jalapeño half with cream cheese cheese mixture.
Wrap each jalapeño with bacon and secure them with a toothpick.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Notes and tips

Immerse the toothpicks in water. Wet toothpick wont burn during baking process
The seeds and the membranes of the jalapeños cause the heat so make sure you get rid of them. I advice to wear gloves while cutting the jalapeños. I did not and my hands were burning for at least a couple of hours :(
If after 20 minutes the bacon doesn't look brown enough, turn on the broiler and keep an eye on them to avoid burning.

Irresistible Baked 3 Cheese Spinach and Artichoke Dip

2014-02-07T16:39:00.001-05:00

Here is another appetizer that was part of my super bowl spread last weekend. Spinach and Artichoke dip just has be in the list of my fave vegetarian appetizers. The rich, delicious sauce is a blend of 3 cheeses : mozzarella, cream cheese and pepper jack. Some of my friends have mentioned that they notice a disproportionately light share of vegetarian recipes so this one is dedicated to you all!! I did make another meaty appetizer for the party but I wanted to post a veggie one first so that I don't portray myself as too carnivorous ;)

If you like this dip then you might like the Spinach and Egg Casserole too that I had posted a while ago. That is one dish that always makes it to our table at least once during the Lenten season.

Before going onto the recipe I just wanted to share something with you without sounding too philosophical . I recently saw a movie and in it the actor said something that really struck me - "You are the sum of your experiences". Sneak peek into your lives...isnt that so true? Ah well..here goes...

Yields an 8 inch round baking dish
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons - Butter/ Oil
4 cloves - garlic, grated
1 cup - Onion, chopped
One 6oz bag - Fresh spinach leaves, chopped
14 oz - Artichoke hearts in water
1/2 Teaspoon - Pepper
Salt, to taste
For cheese sauce
3 Tablespoons - Butter
4 tablespoons - All-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups - Milk
4 oz- Cream cheese
1 Cup - Pepper jack cheese, grated
3/4 Cup - Mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 Teaspoon - Pepper
Salt, to taste
Topping
1/2 Cup - Mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions

Take a heavy bottomed skillet and melt the butter.
Add garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
Add onions and saute them until they become translucent.
Add spinach and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Cook spinach until most of the water from spinach evaporates
Add artichokes and then cook for another 2-3 minutes
Take the skillet of the heat and set it aside
For the cheese sauce, melt butter in a pan.
Add the flour and whisk to form a paste/ roux and cook for a minute. This takes out the raw taste of the flour
Pour milk into the roux whisking it continuously in order to avoid lumps of flour.
Simmer the mixture until the sauce thickens
Add cream cheese, pepper jack and mozzarella and mix well
Season with salt and pepper
Mix in the spinach artichoke mixture and transfer it to a baking dish
Top with grated mozzarella cheese and bake at 350F for 20 minutes.
If you want your cheese to brown on top, turn of the broiler for 2-5 minutes
Serve warm with your favorite chips

Saucy Asian Sesame Meatballs

2014-01-31T20:32:00.002-05:00

Hurrayy...The Superbowl weekend is almost there and our family is already getting all amped up. When we watch the great game, the right ambiance, the fan garb and of course the right appetizers are a must. Well, all these factors are actually sort of relative to the person - for instance, my hubby, needs his large screen, stadium-like sound levels and a lot of beer, but for me it would be the snazzy appetizer, colorful fancy drinks and for my daughter it would be a lot of friends to play with while daddy watches the game with his friends :) . ....And of course, the advertisements and the half-time shows, the debates and cheering just adds more pizzazz!!!!

We heart our meaty hors d'oeuvre especially the wings, ribs and meatballs, so one of these usually always makes the cut, to the table. Recently I realized that I did not have a meatball recipe on the blog and right then I knew what I was going to make for the game this year :) . So here is the star for our Superbowl spread - Saucy Asian Sesame Meatballs. They taste as good as they look and are surprisingly easy to prepare. Why not try these out for your party??

Every year it seems like I keep getting hooked to a new social networking site. This year I think its going to be Instagram but I am still equally addicted to Facebook and Pinterest. Now I worry whether I will have time to manage all these addictions..ohh the problems of life...;)

Yield: 20 meatballs approx
Ingredients

For Meatballs
2 lbs. - Ground Turkey/ Chicken/ Pork/ Beef (any)
2 Cup - Breadcrumbs, or panko breadcrumbs
3/4 Cup - Green onions / Spring Onions / Scallions, thinly sliced
2 - Eggs
1 Tablespoon - Sesame Seed oil
2 Teaspoon - Fresh ginger, grated
2 Teaspoon - Garlic, grated
1 Tablespoon - Sriracha sauce
2 Tablespoon - Soy sauce
1 Teaspoon - Pepper powder
Salt to taste

For Sauce
1/2 Cup - Ketchup
1/8 Cup - Soy sauce
1 Tablespoon - Sriracha sauce
1 Tablespoon - Sesame Seed oil
1 Tablespoon - Honey
To Garnish: Toasted sesame seeds & sliced scallions

Directions

Preheat oven to 400.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it with oil
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs.
Mix in sesame oil, ginger, garlic, sriracha sauce , soy sauce, pepper and salt
Add the ground meat, bread crumbs and green onions and mix. Do not over mix.
Shape into balls about 1 inch in diameter
Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until there is no pink on the inside.
While the meatballs are baking, take a large heavy bottom pan and add all the ingredients mentioned under the sauce and whisk.
Once the meatballs are ready, add them to the sauce
Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and sliced scallions/green onions - Enjoy!!!

Notes and Tips

These meatballs freeze very well. So it be included under the make ahead appetizer list.
Do not over mix the meat, it will make the meatballs tough.
You can make them with lean ground turkey to make them low fat
Toasting the sesame seeds enhances their flavor. Just toast them on a pan until golden brown. It take less than 5 minutes
If you don't have Sriracha sauce, you can substitute it with any chilli sauce

'Best of two worlds' Blueberry Muffins with Orange Topping

2014-01-23T21:30:00.002-05:00

This is my first recipe this year and I really hope you enjoy it as much as we did. In past posts I have expressed my family's love for blueberries, whether fresh or in baked goods (like in a bread, muffin , pie) or in pancakes or as jelly.

You might be curious as to why these muffins are termed "best of two worlds" ...right? Here is the answer. A couple of months ago I read a baking related article in which an enterprising young baker performed some experiments using different kinds of fats like oil, butter, shortening and margarine on her cake recipe to compare the outcomes. Her results proved that oil-based cakes were really moist and butter-based cakes tasted great. Who doesnt like the taste of butter right???? But when we start counting those buttery calories it does sometimes make us shy away from these delectable goodies.
So I thought to myself, why not just shave some of those calories off by utilizing a little bit of both oil and butter, thereby utilizing the "best of both worlds". I topped it with a zesty orange topping with made it taste even better. After a few trials, here is the outcome that I think worked, being both moist and tasty and surely worth trying.

Yields : 12 Muffins
Ingredients
2 Cups - All purpose flour
3/4 Teaspoon - Salt
1 Tablespoon- Baking powder
1 Cup- Sugar
3 Tablespoon- Butter, at room temperature
1/4 Cup - Oil
3 - Eggs
1/2 Cup - Milk
1 Teaspoon - Vanilla
2 Cups - Blueberry

Orange Topping
3 Teaspoon - Orange zest
3 Tablespoon - Whole Oats
1 Tablespoon -Sugar
1 Tablespoon - Flour

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F
Place liners in muffin pan
Sift salt, flour and baking powder and keep it aside
Beat the sugar, butter and oil together.
Add egg one at a time and beat until the mixture is incorporated.
Mix in the milk and vanilla.
Now add the dry ingredients(in 3 batches ) to the wet and whisk
Fold in the blueberries
Scoop the batter into the muffin tray
Mix all the ingredients mentioned under orange topping and sprinkle this over the muffins
Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the inserted toothpick comes out clean

Notes and Tips

Please note that this recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of baking powder and not 1 teaspoon.
Sift the flour before you add it to the batter. Sifting incorporates air to the flour and makes your baked good more fluffy, so don't skip this step.
Lemon zest will also work as a great topping.

Best of 2013

2014-01-02T15:40:00.000-05:00

1. Rainbow Polka Dot Cake / Vanilla cake with Lemon Swiss Meringue Butter cream

2. Crepe Cake with Blackberry Schnapps Chocolate Mousse

3. Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal Bread

4. Chocolate-Coffee Cake with Kahlua Sauce

5. Vermicelli Rice Noodles with Stir-fried Chicken and Sriracha-Soy Sauce

6. Soft Wheat Naan / Indian Flat Bread

7. Low Fat Greek Yogurt Strawberry Scones (Egg Free)

8. Roasted Tomato and Garlic Pasta Sauce (Marinara sauce/Spaghetti sauce)

9. Fresh Fruit Tart with Mango Curd Filling

10. Nadan Kozhi Curry / Kerala StyleChicken Curry with Coconut

Other Highlights
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FoodGawker - Our recipe have been published on one of the most prestigious food loving websites called FoodGawker.

Toasted Coconut Banana Bread with Pecans

2013-11-14T20:50:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was cold yet gorgeously sunny. On Friday evenings I usually go grocery shopping after picking up my daughter from school and on this particular weekend, since my husband was also out of town, I decided to indulge in some "retail therapy" by hitting the mall for some holiday splurging ;-) I am so glad my daughter loves this kind of therapy too and she usually get down to business right away trying to decide between the brightest pink dresses for me and her. Little girls and their obsession for pink - what can I say?

The next morning I felt the urge to do some healthy baking and made this Banana bread, texturing it with some toasted coconut and nutty pecans that adds an amazing flavor to the loaf!

The aroma from the freshly baked bread rejuvenated me and I started clicking some random photos of the gorgeous brown eggs as they looked so damn good. I ultimately ended up spending quite some time snapping photos of these eggs from different angles until I was pretty spent. Click-crazy, I know!! Well, if you did notice those feathers in the wire egg basket and was wondering how I got those, don't worry, I dint hurt any bird to get these as I too am an animal/bird lover at heart! OK here goes the story: We have a lake facing home and during a recent summer evening, while having tea out on the patio, I noticed a few geese fighting furiously and in the process loosing feathers. Well opportunity struck and after the cease-fire and all the geese had left the zone, I bravely ventured out to grab a few feathers for my prop collection. Well, my daughter was curious and excited participant of this whole operation and seemed to have fun. Those few feathers came in handy this past weekend but recently I have been getting some angry "hisses' from the geese and I hope they are not planning an operation to get back their fallen feathers..LOL!!

I have always had a love- hate relationship with bananas. I love them when they are just ripe as soon as they are ripened I hate them. But I love them in baked goods like brown butter banana muffins that I had posted last year or even in delicious fruit smoothie like the blueberry smoothie with nutella and peanut butter or the cocoa date smoothie. Another way to use the ripened banana is to add them to Payasam (Indian pudding)

Yields - 1 loaf
Ingredients
1/2 cup - Oil
1 cup - Brown sugar,packed
2 - Eggs
3 - Ripe bananas (1½ cups mashed)
½ cup - Buttermilk
1 teaspoon - vanilla extract
1 cup - Whole wheat flour, sifted
1 cup - All purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon - Baking soda
1 teaspoon - Baking powder
½ teaspoon - Salt
3/4 cup - Coconut(desiccated or fresh)
1/4 cup - Pecans or walnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon - Chia seeds (optional)

Topping
2 Tablespoons - Coconut(desiccated or fresh)
1/4 Cup - Whole Pecans

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F
Take a heavy bottomed pan toast the coconut until they turn golden brown. Set aside.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside
In the stand mixer bowl add brown sugar, eggs and oil and beat on medium speed until all ingredients have been incorporated.
Add buttermilk, vanilla and mashed bananas and beat again.
Now add the dry ingredients to the wet little by little. Make sure that you run the mixer on slow speed else you will have flour all over!
Mix in the toasted coconut, pecans and chia seeds.
Transfer the batter into a greased loaf pan.
Top the loaf with coconut and pecans
Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Notes and Tips

If you are allergic to coconut, skip this ingredients out and follow rest of the recipe
You can opt out wheat flour and make this loaf with all purpose flour
You can add raisins, cranberries or chocolate chips
This loaf is mildly sweet. You can increase the brown sugar to 1 1/4 cup to make a sweeter bread

Crepe Cake with Blackberry Schnapps Chocolate Mousse

2013-11-08T21:55:00.000-05:00

Just to let you all know, I am doing a happy dance as I post this recipe. Reason, you may ask. Well, there are many:

1) I am extremely excited about this recipe

2) It's my 200th post on my blog !!! YAY!!!

3) It's happens to be my birthday, which by the way explains the number of corresponding layers in the cake. Now count the layers to find out how old I am (wink!)

Ever since I have laid eyes on Martha Stewart's Crepe Cake I had wanted to make a crepe cake myself so this has been on my to-do list. I was just waiting for a good excuse to try it out. My husband ’s birthday was a good opportunity but when given a choice between peanut butter chocolate cake and a crepe cake, he obviously choose the former. Well then, I knew right away which one I was going to make for my birthday :)

Recently my sister hosted a dinner at her place and asked me for a chocolate mousse recipe. I found this recipe and passed it on to her and got rave reviews. Well, I was now tempted to try and I thought it would be great in my crepe cake. The texture of the mousse, the chocolatey flavor and the few dashes of blackberry schnapps was surely going to make it all a great combination. I am a diehard fan of chocolate plus blackberry schnapps. I have used this combination in many recipes but unfortunately none of them have made it to the blog.

We usually make whole wheat crepes for breakfast as my daughter loves it when smothered with some Nutella and rolled with some fresh berries. Actually all 3 of us love it so I was pretty confident that the crepe cake with the right flavors would find favor within the family. During my preparatory research before making the crepe I learnt that I could use beer to make the crepe batter more airy. Though the idea sounded good, I decided to substitute beer with club soda instead because I felt beer would be better when making savory crepe rather than the sweet type. The batter turned out just perfect to yield super soft crepes. I was rather delighted when my daughter had a bit and asked me “mama, how did you make it so soft”

The best thing about this Crepe Cake is that it is not very heavy and rich, unlike the traditional birthday cakes that are loaded with buttercream, and neither is it overwhelmingly sweet. I loaded it with berries hoping that it would give it a nice touch!! Hope you all enjoy it as much as we did!

Cheers, Love N Peace
~Shema

Recipe for Chocolate Mousse partially adapted from here

Recipe for Crepes partially adapted from here

Vanilla Crepes
Yields: 34 eight inch crepes
Ingredients
3 cups - Warm milk
6 tablespoon - Melted butter
2 cup – All-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon – Salt
3 tablespoon – Sugar
4 - Eggs
1/2 cup – Plain Club Soda
2 teaspoon - Vanilla
8 inch - Skillet

Direction

Add all the ingredients into a blender (except soda) and pulse until all the ingredients are incorporated well.
Pour batter over a sieve
Stir in the soda, and mix(don't over mix).
Set the batter aside, in an air tight container, for 8 hours or overnight.
Pour about 1/4 batter onto the cast iron skillet and swirl the batter around to create an even surface. Add a little more batter if needed to cover the holes. Small holes are okay to have!
Cook for about 2 minutes on the first side and then about 30 seconds on other side.

Blackberry Schnapps Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients
6 large - Egg yolks
½ cup + ¼ Cup – Sugar, divided
3 cups - Heavy cream
12 ounces (about 2 cups)- Bittersweet chocolate morsels, melted
3 tablespoons - Blackberry Schnapps

Directions

In a saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, ½ cup sugar, and 1 cup heavy cream and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until mixture coats back of spoon, 3 to 4 minutes (do not boil).
Remove from heat; whisk in melted chocolate and vanilla.
Strain into a bowl to remove any residues and chill until cool.
With an electric mixer, beat remaining heavy cream with remaining sugar until stiff peaks form.
Add blackberry schnapps and whip for another 30 seconds
Stir 1/3 of whipped cream into cooled custard mixture and then gently fold in the rest with a rubber spatula.
Cover and allow the mousse to chill for at least 30 minutes before assembling the cake

Assembling the Crepe Cake
Ingredients
Blackberry Schnapps Chocolate Mousse
Crepes
Skewer / toothpicks / dowel rods
Berries to decorate the cake
Cake stand or serving plate

Directions

Place one crepe on the cake stand or serving plate.
Spread about 1/4 cup mousse onto crepe. Top with 1 crepe. Continue layering crepes and mousse.
After you reach the 10th layer let the crepe tower rest in the freezer for 10 minutes to make it firm. If you wish use skewers/toothpicks/dowel rods to strengthen and reinforce the cake tower.
Continue the same process for the rest of the layers. I know the assembly of this cake times, but I highly recommend freezing the cake tower at the end of every 10th layer or else the tower might slide and might fall apart.
Top crepe cake with remaining mouse and berries of your choice.

Notes and Tips

Make the batter ahead of time and let it rest. This resting period allows the gluten in the flour to develop and bond to the milk and eggs, and this yields a more complex flavor.
You can make the crepes a day before and assemble the cake the next day and store the crepes in an air tight container.
I highly recommend freezing the cake tower at the end of every 10th layer or else the tower might slide and might fall apart.
If you wish use skewer / toothpicks / dowel rods to strengthen and reinforce the cake tower. I highly recommend this.

Rainbow Polka Dot Cake / Vanilla cake with Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream

2013-10-24T22:17:00.001-04:00

I am so glad that everyone appreciated my post from last week on the Cake Pops that I made for my daughter birthday. I had also promised that I would publish the cake recipe soon but unfortunately I am almost 2 weeks delayed! Better late than never right?

Every year, habitually a few months before my daughter's birthday in October, I begin my frantic search for a cake that I should be whipping up for her. It takes me several days and umpteen phone conversations with my mom and sister to finally settle down with the recipe and design that we think my daughter would love. This year I planned to try out the really cute polka dot cake. The very first time I laid eyes on this design, I knew I had to try it out. Well, I had nailed down what to bake but I was utterly confused on how I should be decorating the cake. The past three years I have been decorating her birthday cake with fondant but this year was a time for a change. I decided to try a Lemon Swiss Meringue Frosting this time. It's very airy and light with just the right hint of lemon to top it off.

Though I started decorating the cake around noon, it gradually began to get dark outside, especially with some storm clouds moving in. The darker it got outside the more upset I started to become as I realized that my natural ambient lighting for the cake photographs was going to be drastically ruined. All my joy and excitement turned into gloom as my focus turned to just wrapping up the decorating ASAP and make the most of whatever lighting that was available. All my great plans of shooting pictures to share the techniques of the cake designs had to be dropped. Finally at around 4pm I was done and I was able to click some pictures of the final product but I was not too enthused about the quality of the pictures at all. Neither was I happy about the cake decoration as it was done at a lightening speed.

Well, it was never supposed to be a day of gloom and with the help of my little bubbly daughter, I was able to shake it off soon as we got set to cut the cake. It was hilarious to see my husband’s expression as he dint have a clue that there was a surprise inside the cake too! Initially I dint tell him how I managed to get those polka dots inside the cake and it was definitely fun and entertaining listening to his supposedly intelligent guesses.
The next day I distributed the cake so some of our close friends. They loved it and their reviews definitely uplifted my spirits. Thank you y'all ;)

Rainbow cake decoration idea from here
Polka Dot cake idea from here
Recipe for lemon swiss meringue frosting mostly adapted from here
Recipe for cake partially adapted from here

Makes two 9 inch cakes plus 40 cake pops

Ingredients for cake and cake pops

2 1/4 cup (4 1/2 sticks) - Butter, softened

4 cups - Sugar

7 - Eggs, room temperature

4 1/2 cups - All-purpose flour

2 Teaspoon - Baking powder

1 Teaspoon - Baking soda

1/2 Teaspoon - Salt

1 1/2 Cup - Buttermilk, room temperature

3 Teaspoons - vanilla extract

Gel food colors (I used green, pink, yellow, purple)

Shortening or butter and Parchment paper to grease and prepare the pan

Equipment

Cake pop machine or Cake pop pans

2- Round 9 inch cake pans

Instructions
for cake pops

Preheat cake pop machine OR Preheat the oven to 350F if you are using a cake pop pan.
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each egg before adding the next one.
Mix in buttermilk and vanilla extract
Add the dry ingredients 1 cup at a time until all the ingredients are mixed
Take 4 bowls and scoop 3/4 cup of batter into each bowl. Keep the remaining batter aside.
Add food color to each bowls and stir to incorporate it.
Transfer the colored batter from the 4 bowls into 4 separate zip lock bags
Cut off one corner of the zip lock bag and fill each well of the cake pop machine with about 1 tablespoon of the colored batter and cook 4 minutes or just until they are just baked. If you are using the cake pop pan the baking time will be very different.
Let it cool in the fridge

for the cake with polka dots

Preheat the oven to 350F
Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with with shortening or butter and line it with parchment paper. I always do both.
Add the cake batter to the two 9 inch cake pans a little more than just enough to cover the bottom of the cake pans
Place the color cake pops on the batter. I actually ended up putting more cake pops in the batter than shown in the picture below. I used around 16 cake pops in each cake.
Cover the cake pops with the left over batter
Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and allow to cool slightly in cake pans for about 5 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.

Ingredients for Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream

10 large - Egg whites

2-1/2 cups - Sugar

2 1/2 cups - Unsalted butter, cut into cubes and cool, but not cold

2 teaspoon - Lemon extract

Pinch of salt

Instructions

If you haven’t made this before, I advise that you watch this video as I found it helpful. I dint follow the recipe mentioned in the video though.
Add egg whites and sugar and whisk it over a pot of water (double boiling technique) but make sure the water is not boiling.
Whisk continuously until the mixture temperature reaches about 160°F. If you don't have a thermometer just make sure that the sugar has completely dissolved.
Using an electric or stand mixer, begin to whip until the meringue is thick, glossy, and the bottom of the bowl feels neutral to the touch. You might achieve this in about 10 minutes.
Now add butter cubes, one at a time, until incorporated, and mix until it has reached a silky smooth texture. The mixture might curdle during the process but this is normal so keep mixing and it will come back to a smooth and silky consistency.
Add lemon extract and salt, continuing to beat on low speed until well combined.

Cake assembly and decoration

Cake board (about 9 inch round)

Toothpick

Ruler

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

6 Gel food color

6 zip lock bags

6 teaspoon of the same kind

Paper towel

Scissors

Turntable (optional)

6 glasses/cups

Instructions

Take the cooled cake and place it on a cake board that is a little less than 9 inches.
Place the first cake on this board.
Spoon the swiss meringue buttercream and spread it evenly on the first cake
Place the second cake on top bottom side up.
Now spread swiss meringue buttercream on all sides of the cake just enough to cover all the cake. This is called crumb coating.
Let the crumb coated cake rest in the fridge for 30 minutes
Divide the left over swiss meringue buttercream into 6 bowls and add food color and whisk well until the color is completely incorporated
Fill the zip lock bags with each individual color and cut off roughly a 1/4″ from the tip of each bag.
Take the crumb coated cake and place on a turntable.
Before you start decoration the cake please refer this link as it has pictures of each step.
Measure the height of your cake and using a toothpick divide the height of the cake into 6 equal portions.
Place each bag of buttercream into a glass and line them up in the order you wish to pipe. This simple tip will keep your workspace tidy as well as helping you keep track of the color order.
Pipe your first vertical line of dots onto the cake into the 6 marked portions as the guideline to help get even sized dots
Take a teaspoon and using the back gently swipe each dot evenly to the right or left. Use a spoon for each color and line them in the order you wish to pipe, just like the zip lock bags
Repeat this process around the circumference of the cake
Once you have covered the sides, chill the cake for 10 minutes before starting on the top.
Pipe a circle of dots around the outer top edge and swipe into the center.
Continue in this manner until finishing with a single dot of color right in the very center. Finish with a single dot.
Transfer the cake to the cake stand!!!

Mikaela's Birthday Cakes
1st Birthday Cake - Pastel Flower Cake - Confetti Cake with Buttercream
2nd Birthday Cake - Yo Gabba Gabba Cake - Orange cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
3rd Birthday Cake - "Toadstool House" - Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Filling and Butter cream Frosting

Cake Pops for Mikaela's 4th Birthday

2013-10-20T02:00:00.000-04:00

Mikaela is 4 !!!!

I just cant believe how fast time flies, watching her grow and learn new things each day at an amazing pace. How I wish time could be frozen! It's definitely a joy to have a daughter like her and I thank God for this blessing as I truly believe that she is the best that has ever happened to me. I just can't thank him enough for this blessing!!!

This year her birthday celebrations were not elaborate as we did not throw a huge party at home like we usually do but we still wanted to make her day as special as possible. I decided to make cake pops for her school friends and teachers hoping it would make a cute snack for the 4 year old preschoolers!

Lately I have been addicted to Pinterest and I just can get enough of it even after hours of browsing everyday. People come up with so many ideas and its just visual heaven for a person like me. Each day after gawking through those gazillion awe-inspiring pins I feel I will never have enough time to do the things in my bucket-list or rather "boards" in Pinterest terminology ;)!!

Being the Pinterest addict that I am how could I go for a store bought cake pop stand??? Obviously, I decided to make my own! You wont believe it if I disclose the number of shops I visited to get the material for it. I just wanted it perfect for her. We both loved the shopping part, though mommy is finding it difficult to lift the 35 pounder into the shopping cart these days!!

Well, here is another inspiration I got from Pinterest : a special birthday quiz that I would take for her birthday every year, starting this year, which could then grow into a memorable scrapbook compilation. Isn't that cool? I know I am already excited and curious to see how things would change over the years :)

Do you remember those pastel Lamingtons that I made for Easter last year? Weren't those cute? Well, here are some Lamington cake pops. My daughter and her friends thought they were yummy and seemed to just love them! Well, of course she couldn't say no to the pink and purple sprinkle ones either!!!

I also made a special cake for her birthday that we cut at home. I will post that next week, so stay tuned for more :)

Recipe adapted from Babycakes Recipe Booklet

Makes approx 4 dozen cake pops

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cups - All purpose flour

1 Tsp - Baking powder

1/2 Tsp - Salt

1/2 Cup - Butter, softened

1 Cup - Sugar

2 - Eggs

2 Tsp - Vanilla

1/2 Cup - Milk

1 Tablespoon - Wilton Colorburt batter bits (optional)

For coating

1 packet /12 OZ/340gm - Wilton White Candy melts

Sprinkles / Colored sugar / Desiccated coconut (as desired)

Cake pop sticks
Gel Food Color (if you desire colorful pops)

Equipment

Cake Pop machine \ Cake pop pan

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Beat butter and sugar until light and creamy.
Mix in the eggs and vanilla.
Alternately stir in flour and milk into batter
If adding batter bits, mix it in at this stage.
Transfer the batter into a ziploc bag and cut about 1 cm off from one corner
Preheat the cake pop machine
Fill each well with about 1 tablespoon batter and cook 4 to 5 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let it cool in the fridge
Melt candy melts according to package directions.I used the microwave method.
Dip the tip of the cake pop sticks into the melted candy melts (about 1 cm) and insert into the cake balls about half-way.
Freeze for about 20 minutes to ensure that the cake pops get glued to the stick
Remove cake balls from freezer.
Dip cake balls carefully into the chocolate until covered.
Allow the excess chocolate drip off.
Add the sprinkles immediately else the chocolate will harden quickly.
Allow the decorated cake pops to dry on a styrofoam block or on an inverted colander
Place into the freezer to speed up setting time.

Notes and Tips

Here is a good video that would guide you through the process of dipping the cakes pops into candy melts.
Make sure you choose a cup/dish that is tall and slender so that the cake pop can be completely submerged into the melted candy.
Cover with a clear treat bag & ribbon, if desired.
Store in a single layer, in an airtight container.

Sending this recipe to Nancy of Spicie Foodie for the October YBR

Thai Red Chicken Curry

2013-10-10T20:40:00.002-04:00

Recently I have been experimenting with the addition of a human "touch" in some of my food photographs, so you might occasionally see my daughter or my husband. Well, this time I volunteered to be the model myself assuming that I had a steadier hand than both my previous models, especially with the arduous task of balancing food with chopsticks :)

Just to share an interesting quirk about our family's eating-out habits- We hardly ever visit an Indian restaurant though we both are Indian by birth! We would rather try something new, something I am not used to preparing at home rather than venture onto the usual fare that we grew up eating and cooking. We made some exceptions during my pregnancy as I had to satisfy some cravings for spicy food and also occasionally when we both feel like eating something spicy and curry-based. During such instances Thai cuisine has turned out to be our unanimous choice.

Did you know that Thai curries with coconut milk are very similar to Kerala cuisine with the exception of the herbs that are used. Thai cuisine calls for lemongrass, Kaffir lime leaves and Galangal root whereas Kerala cuisine uses curry leaves, Ginger and Bay leaves. My sister and her family went to Phuket for a vacation last year and I still recall how she would rave about the scrumptious authentic Thai dishes she feasted on. I hope with this recipe you can get your Thai food cravings satisfied - Enjoy!

Serves 6

Ingredients
Chicken
1 1/2 lb - Chicken breast cut into pieces
1 inch - Fresh ginger
6 cloves - Garlic
1 Tablespoon - Paprika (adjust to your spice level)
2 - Kaffir lime leaves OR bay leaves
Salt to taste
Oil

Vegetables
1 - Red bell pepper
2 small or 1 big- Zucchini
2 crowns - Broccoli

Sauce
1 can (400 ml) - Coconut milk
2 Cups - Chicken stock
6 Tablespoon - Minced fresh lemongrass OR store bought prepared lemongrass
1 Tablespoon - Corn Starch
1 Tablespoon - Fish sauce
1 Tsp - Shrimp Paste
1 Tablespoon- Brown sugar
1 Tsp - Galangal root powder or use fresh if available
3/4 Tsp - Cumin powder
3/4 Tsp - Coriander powder
1/4 Tsp - Cinnamon powder
Salt

Garnish
Fresh basil
1 Tablespoon - Fresh lime juice

Directions

Grind the ginger and garlic into a smooth paste. You can use mortar and pastel for this if you don't have a small jar blender
Marinate the chicken with ginger-garlic paste, paprika and salt.
Heat about 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok and add the kaffir lime leaves and saute for 1 minute.
Add vegetables and saute for 3 minutes. Season them with salt. Set them aside.
Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok and add the marinated chicken.
While the chicken is cooking mix all the ingredients under the sauce in a bowl except corn starch.
Once the chicken piece are cooked, add the sauce and bring it to a boil
Mix corn starch with about 3 tablespoons of water and add it to the boiling liquid
Add the saute veggies and mix well.
Serve with brown rice or white rice

Notes and Tips

Kaffir lime leaves come from the Kaffir lime tree, a lime tree native to Indonesia. The leaves are highly aromatic and suitable for Asian cuisines, including Thai, Indonesian, Cambodian and Lao cuisines. They are easily recognizable by their emerald-green, double leaf lobes, which makes them appear as if two leaves are joined together.
Galangal is a type of ginger used in the Thai kitchen as well as other Southeast-Asian cuisines. Also referred to as Siamese Ginger, it has a slightly milder taste than the North American variety, and can be distinguished by its reddish skin. Look for Galangal at your local Asian market (fresh or frozen) or grocery store. (Note that galangal can also be purchased in its dried, ground form; however, like ground ginger, the dried version does not have the same quality of flavor or nutrients as the fresh.) I used galangal powder that I bought from an Asian store.
Lemongrass is a stalky plant with a lemony scent that grows in many tropical climates, most notably in Southeast-Asia. A common ingredient in Thai cooking, lemongrass provides a zesty lemon flavor and aroma to many Thai dishes. I used this from Giant Eagle.
Opt out fish sauce and shrimp paste if you are allergic to seafood.
I highly recommend 'Thai Kitchen' coconut milk. That is my personal favorite. OR substitute with fresh thick coconut milk
I have used broccoli, red pepper and zucchini in my dish but you can substitute it for any of your favorite veggies
Do not overcook the veggies - They should have a slight crunch to them. Overcooking veggies will kill the nutrients and they will loose their vibrant color.
I used coconut oil to prepare this dish.

Honeycomb Buns with Caramel Apple filling (Bee’s Hive Buns / Khaliat Nahal)

2013-09-30T15:57:00.000-04:00

Here is another bread I made with Aparna and our talented baking group. Khaliat al Nahal (also known as Khaliat Nahal) translates as Bee’s Hive in Arabic. This is because the buns are baked close to each other in a round pan where they form a honeycomb like pattern. They’re traditionally made sweet and glazed with honey flavored syrup, though savory versions are also made.

We were told to get creative with the filling - sweet or savory. I choose to stuff my soft bread with a simple caramel apple filling to welcome the fall, my favorite season of the year:). Traditionally, the filling used in this bread is a small piece of plain cream cheese but the choice of filling is entirely up to you.

The dough was easy to make and I used a food processor to knead the dough. After the bread is baked it covered with a sugar syrup/ glaze which is typical of Middle Eastern confectionery.

Recipe adapted from Aparna

Ingredients

For the dough

1 cup lukewarm milk

1 1/2 tsp instant yeast

1 tsp sugar

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tbsp sugar (for sweet bread)

3/4 to 1 tsp salt (for savoury bread) OR 1/4 tsp salt (for sweet bread)

40gm (approx 3 Tbsp) butter , melted

2 tbsp milk for brushing the dough

2 tbsp white sesame seeds for sprinkling on top (optional; only for savoury bread)

For the filling

1 cup - Apple, pealed and chopped
18 - Caramel Candy, chopped
1 Tsp - Ground Cinnamon

Sugar Syrup/ Glaze (for sweet bread)

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 cup water

A pinch of saffron (optional)

1 tsp lime/ lemon juice

Topping (optional)
1 Tsp - Chia seeds

Directions

Combine the milk, sugar and yeast in a small bowl and keep for 5 minutes or until its frothy.
Melt butter and let it cool.
Add 2 cups of the flour, salt, sugar (if making the sweet bread only) and melted butter in the food processor and run it to incorporate the mixture
Add yeast-milk mixture to the processor bowl and knead until you have a smooth and elastic dough which is not sticky. Add as much of the remaining 1/2 cup of flour as you need to get this consistency of bread dough. I used all of 2 1/2 cups of flour for mine.
Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl, turning it to coat completely with the oil. Cover and let it rise till double in volume, for about an hour.
While the dough is rising, prepare your filling. Since I used fresh apples for my filling I just prepared the filling when the dough was ready. I cut each caramel candy into 4 pieces and mixed it with chopped apples and cinnamon. roughly divide the filling into 18 portions
Turn the dough out onto your oiled work surface. You won’t really need to flour it as the dough is quite manageable. Cut it into 2 halves. With your palms, roll out each half a “rope” about 9” long. Cut each rope into 1” pieces so you have a total of 18 pieces.
Take each piece and flatten it out a little and place half a teaspoon of filling in the center. Pull up the sides and wrap the dough around the filling, pinching it closed at the top. Place this in a well-greased round 9” cake tin. Repeat with the remaining 17 pieces and the filling. Arrange the filled balls of dough in concentric circles, filling the base of the cake tin.
Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for about 30 to 40 minutes. Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle the chia seeds over this.
Bake the buns at 180C (350F) for about 25 minutes, until they’re done and a nice golden brown on top.
Let them cool in the tin for about 5 minutes and then on a wire rack.
If you’re making the sweet version, make the sugar syrup/ glaze during the first rise of the dough. For this put the sugar, water and saffron in a small pan and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for a few minutes until it starts thickening a bit. Take it off the heat and add lime/ lemon juice. Mix well and let it cool.
When the sweet buns come out of the oven, pour the syrup all over the top of the “Honeycomb”. The bread should be hot and the syrup/ glaze should be cool. If you want your Honeycomb Buns to be less sweet, just brush the syrup/ glaze over the top.
Let it sit for a while for the syrup/ glaze to set a bit.

Notes and Tips

Here’s a good video to watch in case you think you need it (Click here)
This recipe makes 18 small buns, and if you want fewer you can halve the recipe to make about 9 or 10 buns. For half the recipe, use a 6” or 7” round cake tin to bake the Honeycomb Bread. You can also bake them individually in muffin tins if you prefer, except they would not have their characteristic “honeycomb” pattern.
You can opt for savory filling like Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese), Spiced Keema(ground meat), veggies of your choice, cheese
Use the sesame seed topping for savory bread
When oil my hands while working with the dough to keep my hands mess free
Always check the expiry date on the yeast.
Store yeast in refrigerator

Some other breads I made with this baking group
Hokkaido Milk Bread with Tangzhong (Softest White Bread)
http://lifescoops.blogspot.com/2013/03/easter-bunny-shaped-bread-hokkaido-mild.html

Savoury Kugelhopf
http://lifescoops.blogspot.com/2013/07/savoury-kugelhopf.html

Stuffed Chicken Roast in Spiced Gravy / Malabar Style Kozhi Nirachathu

2013-09-17T22:43:00.000-04:00

I have noticed that some of my recent posts usually start off with ramblings about how my day went, the weather, my family, memories, events and sometimes even about nutritional values of certain ingredients. But today I am going to deviate a tad from the beaten path and instead I am just going to focus on the story of a bird that was transformed into a finger licking traditional dish called Kozhi Nirachathu . Yumm!! For those of you who don’t follow the Malayalam language name of this dish, here is a literal translation; 'Kozhi' means chicken and 'Nirachathu' means stuffed. This recipe has its origins from the Malabar region of Kerala, the southernmost state of India.

Whenever I see a whole roasted chicken, juicy and warm, I get this hunger pang attack and my tummy simply starts rumbling. With such a drool-worthy presentation, this dish is apt for any special occasion (like Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving or any of the usual family parties)

The chicken is first marinated in spices and lemon juice and then braised in curry-leaf infused coconut oil. Sounds delicious already right? - slurp! I know – lets continue… The braised chicken is then stuffed with boiled eggs which are spiced to perfection with some browned onions, raisins and cashew nuts. No – hold on, I am not done yet. Then the braised stuffed chicken is cooked in a spiced tomato- based sauce. Now a’int that something delectable and mouth-watering?

...So why wait – get cooking!!! Good luck :)

Serves 6-8 people

Directions
Marinate
2 Kg - Chicken, skin off
2 Tablespoon - Red Chilly powder
1 Tsp - Black Pepper powder
3/4 Tsp - Turmeric
2 Tablespoon - Lemon Juice
Salt

Braise
3-4 sprig - Curry Leaves
Coconut Oil

Stuffing
2 - Eggs, boiled
2 Tsp - Concentrated Tomato Paste
2 Tablespoon - Black Raisins
14 - Cashew nut, whole
1 Cup - Red Onion, sliced
1 - Green chilly, chopped
1/2 Tsp - Garlic, grated
1 twig - Curry leaf
1/4 Tsp - Turmeric powder
1/4 Tsp - Chilly powder
1 Tsp - Coriander powder
1/4 Tsp - Pepper powder
1/8 Tsp - Cumin / jeera powder
1/8 Tsp - Garam masala
Salt
Ghee (Clarified butter)

Gravy
2 Cups - Red Onion, chopped
2 - Green chilly
3 twigs - curry leaves
2 Tsp - Ginger, grated
1 Tablespoon - Garlic
3 - Tomato, chopped
1/2 Tsp - Saunf /Fennel seed powder
1/4 Tsp - Turmeric
3/4 Tsp- Chilly powder
1 Tsp - Coriander powder
1 Tsp - Pepper powder
1/4 Tsp - Cumin\jeera powder
1/4 Tsp - Garam masala
1/2 Cup - Thick Coconut Milk
Coconut Oil

Garnish
1 - Egg, boiled and sliced
Lime wedges

Directions
Marinate

Remove the packet of giblets from the cavity of the chicken.
Discard the skin.
Wash the chicken then drain and blot dry with paper towels.
Make incision on the legs, thighs and chicken breast
In a bowl enough to hold the whole chicken, mix chilly powder, pepper, turmeric, lemon Juice and salt and rub this marinade all over the cleaned chicken. Make sure to get inside the incisions
Tie the legs together with a twine.
Marinate for at least 1 hour

Braise the chicken

Take a wok\kadai with a lid. This pan should be large enough to hold the whole chicken.
Heat coconut oil and add the curry leaves and saute for a minute and then add the whole chicken. While braising add oil enough to cover the whole surface of the wok/kadai else the chicken will stick to the bottom and you will end up using more oil during the process.
Let it cook on all sides until you see some browning
Close the lid and cook further to make sure that the chicken is cooked through. You can cook the chicken in the oven after braising it but I completed the whole cooking process in the wok/kadai.
Take out the whole chicken and keep it aside to cool

Stuffing

While the chicken is cooking, take another pan and add some ghee to it.
Add the raisins and when they fluff up strain and keep them aside
Now add the cashew nuts and sauté them until golden brown. Strain and keep it aside
To the remaining ghee, add the sliced onions and curry leaves and saute until they are golden brown.
Mix in green chilly, garlic, turmeric, chilly powder, coriander, pepper, cumin and garam masala and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
Cut the boiled eggs into half. I used 2 for the stuffin and 1 boiled eggs to garnish
Take the pan off the heat and add the fried raisins, cashew nuts and boiled eggs. Gently stir carefully making sure not to rupture the eggs
Stuff this mixture into the braised chicken

Gravy

Heat coconut oil in a pan and add curry leaves, onions, ginger, garlic, green chilies and sauté until the onions are golden brown. I made this in the same pan in which the chicken was braised so I got some flavored oil to start my cooking. If you have too much oil in the pan, discard the rest and work with the amount you need.
Now add the spices: saunf, turmeric, chilly powder, garam masala, pepper, cumin and coriander and sauté for 2 minutes.
Once the raw smell from the spices disappears, add the tomatoes and sauté until they are cooked and almost like a thick sauce.
Add coconut milk to this and cook until the desired consistency is attained
Now add the stuffed chicken and cook for a few minutes. If the chicken looks dry smear some of the sauce onto it while cooking. You can close the lid and cook for some time to make the chicken more mosit
Drizzle with lemon juice and serve with sliced boiled eggs

Notes and Tips

Braise means to fry lightly and then stew it slowly in a closed container.
Please dont forget to tie the legs of the chicken together before cooking otherwise you will end up with a funny looking bird! I inserted toothpick to get the wings tucked in between the legs and the body.
I highly recommend coconut oil and ghee while cooking this dish
Be sure to add curry leaves to coconut oil before starting to braise the chicken.
While braising add oil enough to cover the whole surface of the wok/kadai else the chicken will stick to the bottom and you will end up using more oil during the process. After you have braised the chicken, if you end up with a lot of oil, use it to make the gravy and discard the rest.
You can cook the chicken in the oven after braising it but I completed the whole cooking process in the wok/kadai.
If the chicken is cooked right, the pieces will fall right off while cutting
Serving suggestions: Serve with Pulav, Naan, Roti/Chappati or Kerala Paratha