The Mad Scientist's Kitchen!!

Avocado Milkshake

2015-06-29T07:41:00.000+05:30

Avocado Milkshake

The avocado is a tree native to Mexico and Central America. It scientifically classified in plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel. Avocado or alligator pear also refers to the fruit, botanically a large berry that contains a single seed.

Avocados are commercially valuable and are cultivated in tropical and Mediterranean climates throughout the world. They have a green-skinned, fleshy body that may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped, or spherical. The fruit is not sweet, but distinctly and subtly flavoured, with smooth texture.

Avocado is has several B vitamins and vitamin K, with good content of vitamin C, vitamin E and potassium and also phytosterols and carotenoids. About 75% of an avocado's energy comes from fat, most of which is monounsaturated fat as oleic acid. Other predominant fats include palmitic acid and linoleic acid. The saturated fat content amounts to 14% of the total fat.

As high avocado intake, has in one study shown lower blood cholesterol levels in the tested patients I am trying to add avocado to our diet.

So let us begin with …

How do I choose an avocado?

A ripe avocado yields to gentle pressure when held in the palm of the hand and squeezed.

Want to get to the flesh of the avocado you brought wait …

A cut avocado browns fast, this is called enzymatic browning, exposure to air causes this to prevent this, lime or lemon juice can be added to avocados after peeling.

What can I make with avocado?

Avocado can be used in savoury and sweet preparations.

Generally, avocado is served raw, thought some can be cooked for a short time without becoming bitter. The flesh of some avocados may be rendered inedible by heat; prolonged cooking induces this chemical reaction in all cultivars.

Avocado is popular in vegetarian cuisine as a substitute for meats in sandwiches and salads because of its high fat content.

In Spanish-speaking countries such as Chile, Mexico, or Argentina avocado is used as the base for the Mexican dip known as guacamole, as well as a spread on corn tortillas or toast, served with spices.

Avocados are also used to make salads, fillings in sandwiches, sushi, on toast, or with chicken or served mixed with white rice, in soups, salads, or on the side of chicken and meat.

Avocados in savoury dishes, often seen as exotic, are a relative novelty in Portuguese-speaking countries, such as Brazil, where the traditional preparation is mashed with sugar and lime, and eaten as a dessert or snack.

However the commonest way to serve avocado is in shakes. In different countries avocados milkshakes are topped and sweetened differently. The additions vary from milk, ice cream, flavoured water, chocolate syrup, treacle.

In Ethiopia, avocados are made into juice by mixing them with sugar and milk or water, usually served with Vimto and a slice of lemon. It is also common to serve layered multiple fruit juices in a glass (locally called Spris) made of avocados, mangoes, bananas, guavas, and papayas. Sounds interesting….

(Courtesy: Wikipedia)

Today I made guacamole saved a medium slice and made a shake out of my avocado. Let meet the shake first.In the past I have made Guasacaca here.

Avocado Milkshake

Ingredients:

2 cup milk, chilled
1 slice of avocado
5 tblspn sugar
1tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Since I want to make a shake with milk lemon is a no-no.
To prevent browning of the avocado what I did was added a cup of milk to my slice of avocado and blitzed it.
Then added all the other cup of milk (so that I could adjust the consistency of the shake), sugar and vanilla essence.
Serve chilled.

Avocado Milkshake

Sending this to Srivalli's Event Kid's Delight hosted by Harini.

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!

Semolina Bread

2015-06-26T20:34:00.000+05:30

Semolina Bread

Today on the last day of the BM #52 I am paired with Mir and I wanted bake a bread. I had my eye on the bread that Mir had set out for us in Taming the Yeast; it was a whole wheat bread. You know me I cannot leave them alone so I tried it. The bread had a mind of its own; it did rise to the occasion.

My discussion with Mir gave me an understanding of the reason. The whole wheat flour in India has ~~greater protein content~~ lesser protein content so it does not rise as much as the bread made with the whole wheat flour made in US. The solution is to add vital wheat gluten.

Since I do not have access to gluten I decided to make this Semolina Bread.

The bread flour was what Kalyani gifted to me.

Family of course loved the bread.

Semolina Bread,

Semolina Bread

Recipe Source: The Schizo Chef

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

Semolina Bread,

2 cups warm water
1 tblspn instant yeast
1 tblspn sugar
1 tblspn salt
3 ½ – 4 cups bread flour
1 cup semolina
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tblspn milk
2 tblspn til/ sesame seeds

Method:

Dissolve the sugar in the water.
In a large bowl, combine 1 ½ cups of the flour, salt, yeast and water, with an electric mixer, mix for a few minutes.
Add semolina, 1 cup of flour and olive oil.
Mix well and using the dough hook attachment, start to knead the dough.
Add flour, ½ cup at a time until the dough wraps itself around the dough hook.
Knead for 5 minutes. Dough will be elastic and slightly sticky.
Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl.
Cover with greased plastic wrap and a kitchen towel.
Leave to rise for 1 hour, until doubled in size.
On a floured board, knead dough for a few minutes, sprinkling a little flour on top as needed.
You can shape into a rustic round loaf. But I preferred to make it in a loaf. I rolled it in a thick rectangle and rolled it up from the narrow end in the thick roll.
Sprinkle a greased loaf pan with rava/semolina or corn flour.
Cover with kitchen towel and leave to rise another 45 minutes, until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375 F.
Brush the top with milk and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
Bake for 45 – 50 minutes, until loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
Cool and slice.
I served it with a delicious mushroom dip.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 53

Aehobakjeon (Korean Zucchini Pancakes) with Sesame Dipping Sauce

2015-06-25T14:38:00.000+05:30

Aehobakjeon (Korean Zucchini Pancakes) with Sesame Dipping Sauce

Zucchini !

The moment I say the word my family runs in the other direction.

Don’t ask me why,must be one of my experiments has put them off. ☺

When I said that I am making pancakes the girls were enthusiastic. In fact even yesterday they kept asking me when I am making pancakes. The trouble is they had holidays and they kept friend hopping so I made them without them around. Much to their irritation. Maybe next Saturday I will make them for their evening snack.

Where did I get the recipe? From Mir's place, my friend with whom am paired for BM pairs.

Meanwhile hubby and I enjoyed these pancakes. Even the maid was very happy with the flavour and kept asking me how I made the dosa.

The substitute here is chilli powder in place of gochugaru and the rice wine vinegar I used wine vinegar .

Aehobakjeon (Korean Zucchini Pancakes) with Sesame Dipping Sauce

Aehobakjeon (Korean Zucchini Pancakes)

Recipe Source: The Schizo Chef
Yield: 14 pancakes
Ingredients:

2 zucchinis,grated
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 cups water
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tblspn ginger,grated
2 cloves garlic,finely chopped
3/4 -1 tsp gochugaru (Korean red chile powder), according to taste

Sesame Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

2 tblspns soy sauce
2 tblspns rice wine vinegar
2 1/2 tsps sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tblspn toasted sesame seeds

Method:

Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk well.
In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add salt, ginger, gochugara, flour and water. Beat to make a smooth batter.
Add zucchini’s and mix to combine.
Lightly oil a skillet. Place 1/3 cup of batter in the skillet for each pancake.
Fry until golden brown on both sides.

What else do we have?

Well come back tomorrow to see that…

Meanwhile today you can check my other friends

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 53

Korean Cauliflower Stir Fry

2015-06-24T22:01:00.000+05:30

Korean Cauliflower Stir Fry

Cauliflower!

Hubby loves it kids hate it!

So the solution to my problem is making something new as often as possible. This recipe from Mir's space was too good to give up on. This week I am paired with Mir of The Schizo Chef for BM pairs and I am at a loss as to what to make. I am going Southeast Asian this time .

This was a new taste for us. As we have never eaten anything Korean... sorry we have eaten only Kimchi. That too I suspect is an Indianised version.

I have used in place of rice vinegar red wine vinegar.

Rest of the recipe is followed without any changes.

The best part was when the cauliflower and garlic was cooking hubby came to the kitchen just to see that I do not tweak the recipe.: D

Korean Cauliflower Stir Fry

Recipe Source: The Schizo Chef

Serves 4
Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
2 tblspns oil (I use rice bran oil)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tblspn water
1 tblspn vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
A pinch of sugar
A pinch of salt
1 tblspn toasted sesame seeds

Method:

Heat oil in a kadhai.
Add garlic and fry for 1/2 minute.
Add cauliflower and cook for 2 minutes.
Meanwhile in a small bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, vinegar, water, salt, soy sauce and sugar.
Add to skillet and stir to combine.
Cook on medium high heat for 5-8 minutes.
Add sesame seeds and stir to combine.

Korean Cauliflower Stir Fry

What else do we have?

Well come back tomorrow to see that…

Meanwhile today you can check my other friends

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 53

Gattibajje

2015-06-19T20:18:00.000+05:30

Gattibajje

The other day I was to meet Sharmila Rao as I was to pick up some books from her. Actually I think that books is just an excuse, I like to meet her.

We decided to meet at Carasid, a local joint for yummy food. I still have to get over the omellete pav stuffed with cheese and smoked chicken, not to forget the delicious Alsande Xauti Biryani that Sunil packed for us.

See start talking about food and I digress…

I happened to mention to Sharmila that I wanted a traditional fitter recipe, she is a traditional specialist by the way and she rattled this yummy recipe off. She mentioned that she was going to pack some of these for her kiddo in the hostel.

Was it yum? Well try and then you will know.

Gattibajje

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups rice flour
½ cup maida
½ cup butter
The oil from pickle (optional)
Salt to taste
1 spring curry leaves
Oil to fry

Method:

While this is mixed heat oil in a kadhai/wok.
Mix the rice flour, maida, butter, curry leaves and oil from the pickle if using. Check the salt use if needed.
Knead to a soft dough. Use water only if needed.
Pinch off small bits of dough in the hot oil.
Fry till light golden.
Store in a air tight container.

What else do we have?

Well come back on the 24th to see that…

Meanwhile today you can check my other friends

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Moong Vada/ Fried Moong Vada

2015-06-18T18:54:00.000+05:30

Moong Vada/ Fried Moong Vada

While I am on my memories trip let me share with you what my MIL made many times these vadas and they were something she served with sauce. She also made some with rava but I just cannot remember them.

After a long time, in fact one Hindi movie with Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor reminded me of these vadas. I was on a look out to make them, as I said I could not remember how she made them for I was never in the kitchen when we fried stuff as I would start coughing.

She would fry them when I was away and keep some for me in the casserole. It’s been 18 long years since she has left for her heavenly bode but her memories still linger.

Then I found an old e-cookbook which had the recipe. Of course I have made adjustments in the ingredients to suit our taste. Needless to say these were first to disappear.

Moong Vada

Making time: 20 minutes (excluding soaking time)

Ingredients:

1 cup moong dal

½ cup coriander finely chopped

2 cloves garlic

3-4 green chillies finely chopped

Oil to deep fry

Method:

Wash and soak dal for 3-4 hours.

Keep 2 tbsp. dal aside, grind the rest, coarsely.

Mix all other ingredients, including whole dal.

Add 2-3 tbsp. hot oil to the mixture.

Heat oil.

Make small balls drop carefully into the hot oil.

Fry first one side then the other till golden brown.

Serve hot with green chutney, tamarind chutney, or ketchup.

What else do we have?

Well come back tomorrow to see that…

Meanwhile today you can check my other friends

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Masala Vada/ Chana Dal Vada/ Chattambade

2015-06-17T18:43:00.000+05:30

Masala Vada/ Chana Dal Vada/ Chattambade

Childhood memories are these hot vada and tea and rains! Added to Ajji or Grandmother admonishing us,” enough now! You will get a stomach-ache if you eat any more of these.” Why she made them as snack when it rained I don’t know...

Else it used to be traditional meal served on the banana leaf when there were too many attractions to concentrate only on these beauties. Either way we hardly ate any...

Coming to Dal or pulses that we eat ...

Dal is a dried pulse (lentil, pea or various types of bean) which has been split.

Dal goes by various names called bele in Kannada and pappu, paripu or paruppu in Telugu and Tamil, daal in Marathi. Dal is a ready source of proteins for a balanced diet containing little or no meat.

To make the dal usually the outer hull is usually stripped off; dal that has not been hulled is described as chilka (skin), e.g. chilka urad dal, mung dal chilka.

The variety of dal we have are numerous we have chana dal, urid dal, toor dal, moong dal, masoor dal to name a few common ones…

Masala Vada/ Chana Dal Vada/ Chattambade

Making time: 20 minutes (excluding soaking time)

Makes: 15 vadas (approx.)

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow gram (chana) dal
½ cup coriander finely chopped
1 spring curry leaves
3-4 green chillies finely chopped
Oil to deep fry

Method:

Wash and soak dal for 3-4 hours.
Keep 2 tbsp. dal aside, grind the rest, coarsely.
Mix all other ingredients, including whole dal.
Add 2-3 tbsp. hot oil to the mixture.
Heat oil;
Make small balls and flatten to with moist palm.
Let carefully into the hot oil.
Fry first one side then the other till golden brown.
Serve hot with green chutney, tamarind chutney, or ketchup.

Masala Vada/ Chana Dal Vada/ Chattambade

What else do we have?

Well come back tomorrow to see that…

Meanwhile today you can check my other friends

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 53

Fruity Popsicles

2015-06-12T20:26:00.000+05:30

Fruity Popsicles

So I have taken you through all my failures of making an ice cream that will be acceptable after the Chocolate and Coffee Ice Cream I made yesterday.

I was desperate to make a simple ice cream that met the expectations.

That was no problem as I had bookmarked some ice creams made by others, but time …
I need it by tomorrow.

So I used Rajani’s recipe which she had copied from Vaishali !!!!

Fruity Popsicles

Recipe Source: My Kitchen Trails and Ribbons and Pasta

Ingredients:

Sprite /lemonade, as needed
Fruits of your choice, chopped (I used kiwi, peach)

Method:

Slice the fruits. Fill the ice pop mould with the sliced fruits.
You can add as many or as little fruits as you want. The more fruits you have in, the more packed it is and the better it looks. I was short on fruits, so I put only 3 pieces in each.
Fill the mould with the liquid of your choice. Any see-through liquid is fine.
Freeze overnight.
Enjoy!

Fruity Popsicles

What else do we have?

Well come back on the 17th to see that…

Meanwhile today you can check my other friends

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Chocolate And Coffee Ice Cream

2015-06-11T20:24:00.000+05:30

Ice cream is a frozen food eaten as a snack or dessert.

Ice creams are usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Generally commercial ice creams are sweetened with sucrose, corn syrup, cane sugar, beet sugar, and/or other sweeteners and flavoured and coloured they also have added stabilizers. The mixture is stirred to incorporate air spaces and cooled below the freezing point of water to prevent detectable ice crystals from forming. The result is a smooth, semi-solid foam that is solid at very low temperatures (<35 °F / 2 °C). It becomes more malleable as its temperature increases.

Historically China had a frozen mixture of milk and rice around 200 BC. Apparently they knew about freezing mixtures of salt and ice.

In the Middle East the Arabs used an ancient type of ice house, a yakhchal, in Yazd, Iran. The major ingredient in the production of ice cream was milk and sweetened it with sugar rather than fruit juices. It was flavoured with rosewater, dried fruits and nuts.

In the Persian Empire, people would pour grape-juice concentrate over snow, in a bowl, and eat this as a treat. They used snow saved in the cool-keeping underground chambers known as "yakhchal", or taken from snowfall that remained at the top of mountains by the summer capital Ecbatana. In 400 BC, the Persians went further and invented a special chilled food, made of rose water and vermicelli, which was served to royalty during summers. The ice was mixed with saffron, fruits, and various other flavours.

The Roman Emperor Nero (37–68 AD) had ice brought from the mountains and combined it with fruit toppings to create chilled delicacies.

Closer home in the sixteenth century, the Mughal emperors used relays of horsemen to bring ice from the Hindu Kush to Delhi, where it was used in fruit sorbets.

In Europe Italian duchess Catherine de' Medici is credited with introducing ice cream into Europe in the 16th century.

Whatever the history we will all agree that ice creams make the blistering heat bearable and the lady of the house will agree that it keeps her out of the kitchen and the heat for some time.

Anyway if you are interested try reading Wikipedia that is where I have copied all this from.

For today I have tried making this Icecream from the Tupperware Booklet. Needless to say it was yum and all the ice creams that I tried after this one got compared with this one.

All of them were declared flop.

So much that one I threw out and the other was made in a smoothie. After it was over hubby tells me why that was delicious. Anyway I have no pictures of it.

Chocolate And Coffee Ice Cream

Recipe Source: Tupperware

Ingredients:

1 tropical twin whipping cream
½ tropical twin condensed milk
2 tblspn un-sweetened cocoa powder
1 tblspn instant coffee mixed with hot water

Method:

Whisk whipping cream until you get soft peaks and set aside.
Whip condensed milk, coffee and cocoa powder till well blended.
Fold gently the whipped cream and condensed milk.
Pour on aluminium containers overnight.
Serve topped with nuts or grated chocolate.( Mine had customers before the scoop was out so I did not add anything).

What else do we have?

Well come back tomorrow to see that…

Meanwhile today you can check my other friends

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 53

Cashew Nut and Almond Kulfi/Qulfi/Khulfi

2015-06-10T17:15:00.000+05:30

Cashew Nut and Almond Kulfi/Qulfi/Khulfi

Today let have some Kulfi or Qulfi or Khulfi.

So what is Kulfi?

I will like to think of Kulfi as extremely popular frozen dairy dessert, the traditional Indian Subcontinent ice cream.

Unlike the Western ice cream a Kulfi is never whipped so it is denser and creamier. In fact the creamier the better it takes a longer time to melt.

A Kulfi comes in the traditional flavours of cream (malai), rose, mango, cardamom (elaichi), saffron (kesar or zafran), and pistachio. There are newer additions like apple, strawberry etc.

Kulfi is likely to have originated in the Mughal Empire, which ruled India in the 16th to 18th centuries. It was prepared in royal kitchens using ice brought in from the Himalayas. This is documented in the Ain-i-Akbari, a detailed record of the Mughal emperor Akbar's administration. Small wonder then that it is popular throughout places such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Burma (Myanmar), and the Middle East.

Here I have tried to follow the traditional method of making a Kulfi but used condensed milk to speed up the thickening.

The lengthy process of heating the milk and sugar give the Kulfi a distinctive flavour.

Had it not been the fact that it’s very hot this year and I am running out of the kitchen at the smallest possible pretext I would have made this Kulfi once again, just for pictures in the Kulfi mould. Well maybe next year…this time I am content with my matkas.

Cashew Nut and Almond Kulfi

Cashew Nut and Almond Kulfi/Qulfi/Khulfi

Makes 8 medium kulfis

Ingredients:

6 cups of high fat milk, with cream
½ cup cream
2 tblspn sugar (if needed)
½ tin condensed milk
3 tblspn corn flour
10 almonds, coarsely chopped
15 cashew nuts, coarsely chopped
A few strands of saffron

Method:

Mix the corn flour in ½ cup of milk and set aside.
Boil the remaining milk with the sugar.
Simmer stirring constantly using a slotted spoon till the milk is reduced to half.
Add the milkmaid and the cream, saffron. Stir and boil for a minute or two.
Now add the corn flour mixture and bring to boil till the mixture thickens.
Remove from the flame and let it cool completely.
Run in the whipper section of the mixer or use the hand mixer with the beaters. Whip well. (Not necessary but I find this way the cream is well distributed).
In the last round add the almonds and the cashew nuts.
Transfer to kulfi moulds cover and freeze vertically.
Once firm the kulfi can be served.
To serve the kulfi dip the moulds in water then run a knife around the edges. Transfer to a plate.
Serve.

What else do we have?

Well come back tomorrow to see that…

Meanwhile today you can check my other friends

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 53

Chocolate Heart of Darkness Cakes

2015-06-05T17:56:00.000+05:30

Chocolate Heart of Darkness Cakes

April'15 for Baking Partners we were to bake one delicious cake that I knew the girls will love.

An amazing molten lava cake… but I postponed making it as I knew my younger daughter who was out of station will love it. Plus she was to come back with my niece another chocolate crazy kid!

Plus given the fact that I was totally lazy and barely in the kitchen it made sense right?

This amazingly delicious cake that fell on the kitchen platform as I was transferring to the rack. I called my elder one, her solution was to fetch a spoon and finish it straight from the platform....:)

Chocolate Heart of Darkness Cakes

Anyway here is awesome cake that will wow your family and guest alike.

Chocolate Heart of Darkness Cakes

Recipe Source: Death by Chocolate Cakes: An Astonishing Array of Chocolate Enchantments by Marcel Desaulniers

Ingredients:

Chocolate truffle:

227 grms semisweet baking chocolate
¾ cup heavy cream

For the chocolate cocoa cake:

142 grms butter cut into pieces +2 tsp melted
2/3 cup Maida/All purpose flour
½ cup Unsweetened cocoa
227 grms Semi sweet baking chocolate
3 Eggs
2 Egg yolks
½ granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

To make the truffles:

Place the chocolate in a bowl.
Heat heavy cream in a small pan over medium heat and bring to boil.
Pour boiling cream over the chopped chocolate.
Let it sit for five minutes and whisk until smooth.
Pour the mixture onto a non-stick baking sheet and slightly spread it with a spatula.
Place this in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Divide into two and roll into balls.
Place the truffles into paper lined plates and place in the freezer.

To make the chocolate cake:

Preheat the oven to 325 degree F.
Lightly coat the inside of muffin tin (3 inch diameter cups) with melted butter. Set this aside.
Sift combine flour and cocoa powder keep aside.
Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler or in a microwave and stir until smooth.
Place egg, egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and beat on medium high heat with an electric mixer.
When it is frothy add the butter chocolate mixture and beat for 15 seconds.
Fold in the dry ingredients along with vanilla extract.
Fill three forth of each muffin cup with the batter and bake for about 5-6 minutes.
Remove the truffle from the freezer. Quickly take the muffin tray from the oven and press one truffle each to the centre of the muffin. Immediately return the baking pan into the oven and continue baking until a toothpick inserted into the cake (not the centre truffle portion but the edge of the cake) comes out clean.
It will take 15-17 minutes.
Cool in room temperature for 20 minutes.
Run a knife around each cake to loosen it and then gently pull the baked cake out of the cup.
You can serve while still warm with whipped cream or ice cream but we had it plain.

Chocolate Heart of Darkness Cakes

What else do we have?

Well come back on the 10th to see that…

Meanwhile today you can check my other friends

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 53

Nachos and Salsa

2015-06-04T21:02:00.000+05:30

Nachos and Salsa

Nachos is a Tex-Mex dish from northern Mexico. The dish can be as simple as tortilla chips (totopos) covered with cheese or cheese-based sauce fr a snack. Want a main course add more stuff.

Nachos were first created circa 1943 by Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya.

In the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, just over the border from Eagle Pass, Texas, In 1943, the wives of U.S. soldiers stationed at Fort Duncan in nearby Eagle Pass were on a shopping trip, and arrived at the restaurant after it had already closed for the day.

The maître d'hôtel, Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya, invented a new snack for them with what little he had available in the kitchen: tortillas and cheese. Anaya cut the tortillas into triangles, added shredded cheddar cheese, quickly heated them, added sliced pickled jalapeño peppers and served them, called them "Nacho's especiales". As word of the dish travelled, the apostrophe was lost, and Nacho's "specials" became "special nachos".

When I choose my theme I had visions of serving nachos with different fillings all the pictures of nachos I see were dancing in front of my eyes. I knew how I wanted to serve them right down to photographing them…

;( But I could not. Not because I was lazy, me have a lazy bone in my body? Of course not… but it was too hot, no maid, the kitchen lights conked off, the kitchen fan was not working …..

Anyway we had store brown nachos and store brought salsa and a very funny movie. So much that finally hubby told me take your picture before everything gets over….

Nachos and Salsa

What else do we have?

Well come back tomorrow to see that…

Meanwhile today you can check my other friends

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 53

Popcorn

2015-06-03T20:55:00.000+05:30

Popcorn

Popcorn, also known as popping corn, is a type of corn or maize that expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated.

Grains like amaranth grain, sorghum, quinoa, millet and corn are able to pop because, their kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior and some oil. When heated, pressure builds within the kernel, and a small explosion (or "pop") is the end result.

There are various techniques for popping corn. The commercial popcorn machine was invented by Charles Cretors in the late 19th century. Now we have along with pre-packaged popcorn can be prepared in a microwave oven, pressure cooker plus we have there are small home appliances for popping corn.

Some consider popcorn to be a health food it can also be used from holiday decorations to packaging materials.

Corn was first domesticated in Mexico 9,000 years ago from a wild grass. A few thousands of years later it then made its way across Central to South America. Popcorn is one of the oldest forms of corn; evidence of popcorn from 3600 B.C. was found in New Mexico.

Corncobs found at two ancient sites in Peru (Paredones and Huaca Prieta) may date from as early as 4700 B.C. This suggests that people living along the coast of northern Peru were already eating popcorn by that time.

Do you know that ….

In popcorn jargon, a popped kernel of corn is known as a "flake". Two shapes of flakes are commercially important. "Butterfly" or "snowflake" flakes are irregular in shape and have a number of protruding "wings". "Mushroom" flakes are largely ball-shaped, with few wings.

"Mushroom"-shaped popcorn, left, is less fragile and less tender than "butterfly"-shaped, right. Courtesy: Google

Popcorn is eaten by movie goers either salted or sweetened. In the 1800 century popcorn, milk and sweetener were breakfast in USA. Popcorn balls (popped kernels stuck together with sugary "glue") were hugely popular around the turn of the 20th century. Cracker Jack is a popular, commercially produced candy that consists of peanuts mixed in with caramel-covered popcorn. Kettle corn is a variation of normal popcorn, cooked with white sugar and salt, traditionally in a large copper kettle.

(Courtesy: Wikipedia).

Small wonder that when movies are watched we have popcorn….

Here I have just popped the pre-packaged corn in a pressure cooker without the whistle.

Delicious popcorn ready in minutes…

What else do we have?

Well come back tomorrow to see that…

Meanwhile today you can check my other friends

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 53

Pound Cake

2015-05-26T19:04:00.000+05:30

Pound Cake

This month for Baking Partners we were to try a Pound Cake.

Simple and beautiful!

This recipe is different from that I follow here & here.

The main points that surprised me was that we were to bake in a cold oven, that is the oven is not be pre-heated and the batter after mixing is to be beaten after all the ingredients are mixed.

Since I was baking this cake for my daughter’s birthday I pre-heated the oven but I did beat the batter and the cake rose beautifully.Also I used my regular 150°C/302°F and not the recommended 190°C/375°F.

Coming to the birthday cake since the theme my younger one had chosen was childhood, she wanted me bake a rabbit cake.

She got out my old book and showed me what she wanted. The book had asked for coconut flakes but she did not want the flakes. Personally I feel the cake looks like a cat the girls were satisfied so who am I to complain…

Also I forgot to take pictures of the pound cake and the cake also in my setup. So this is what you will get for I do not think I will be making this shape again.

Pound Cake

Recipe Source:Gourmet | September 2005

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for buttering pan
1 ½ cups sifted cake flour, sifted before measuring plus additional for dusting
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 and 1/2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup heavy cream

Method:

Generously butter pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess flour, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
Once you sifted the homemade cake flour for 5 times, then add salt and sift together once again. If using cake flour then you need to sift only 3 times.
Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or 6 to 8 minutes with a handheld mixer.
Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla.
Reduce speed to low and add half of flour, then all of cream, then remaining flour, mixing well after each addition.
Scrape down side of bowl, and then beat at medium-high speed 5 minutes. Batter will become creamier and satiny.
Transfer the batter into pan and tap the pan against work surface once or twice to eliminate air bubbles.
Place pan in pre- heated oven at 150°C/302°F.
Bake until golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in middle of cake comes out with a few crumbs adhering.
Cool cake in pan on a rack 30 minutes.
Run a thin knife around inner and outer edges of cake, and then invert cake onto rack to cool completely.

Pound Cake

Akki Bhakari/ Akki Rotti/ Tandula-chi-Bhakari

2015-05-24T14:38:00.000+05:30

Akki Bhakari/ Akki Rotti/ Tandula-chi-Bhakari

Flatbreads are a part of Indian menus. We, Indians make flatbreads out of wheat, jowar/sorghum, and millets like ragi, bajra and many more grains I do not know about.

Indian flatbreads like its culture and cuisine is diverse but still there is a thread connecting them all. You can read about Indian flatbreads here.

Coming to today’s CCC challenge I am making Akki rotti (like the Lingayats community will say in my hometown) or Akki Bhakari like the Brahmin community will say!

Akki bhakari was a standard food growing up. It used to be like jowar one only whiter, easier to eat and hot straight from the tava/skillet to the plate!

This used to be breakfast and then straight to books after that to do holiday homework!

Amma never added spring onion or dhania/ coriander or chillies but here in Goa the same is made with all the above and is called Tandula chi bhakari.

Remember the thread that connects the whole of India! You will find the same foods with a slight variation all over India.

It’s delicious and hubby loved it.

Akki Bhakari/ Akki Rotti/ Tandula-chi-Bhakari

Ingredients:

1 cup Rice flour
1 bundle of spring onions, chopped fine
2-3 green chillies, chopped fine
3 tblspn coconut, freshly grated
A few springs of dhania/ coriander
Salt to taste
Oil to fry
Water

Foil

Non-stick tava/skillet

Method:

In a bowl add the rice flour, spring onion, green chillies, coconut coriander and salt.mix well.
Pile the mixture in the middle and make a well in the centre.
Using hot water and a spoon mix a little water. Add water gradually the idea is to get a soft dough without it being sticky.
Once the dough is ready make small balls the size being smaller than that of tennis balls but bigger than a lime. Set aside.
Heat the non- stick tava/skillet.
Oil the foil and place one ball on the smeared portion. Flatten the ball on the oil gently turn it over and using your fingers flatten the dough to make a thin circle about 1/8 inch in thickness.
Place the foil on the tava/skillet with the flattened circle on the tava/skillet. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes then you will be able to peel the foil off and reuse to make the next roti.
Meanwhile the roti on the tava/skillet needs your attention. Use a tsp to oil the sides of the roti. Flip it over and cook on the other side. The roti is done when it gets slight brown flecks and changes colour.
Serve hot with homemade butter.

Akki Bhakari/ Akki Rotti/ Tandula-chi-Bhakari

This joins the May Week 3 Cooking from Cookbook Challenge Group.

Alsande cho Tonak at BM#50 Meet

2015-05-08T19:00:00.000+05:30

Alsande cho Tonak

"Make Alsande Tonak "

And I panicked and made a SOS visit to Sheetal!

What am I talking about?

My readers, I am a part of Bloggers Marathon, a group of us who blog every month on various themes.

Naturally we are all very close, it’s more like a family group and we meet. We met in Chennai this year and it was fun.

On the last day we were go to Foodology, an amazing place for foodies.

Valli and Padma asked me to make Alsande cho Tonak and I decided to ask Sheetal, my guide for all these traditional recipes!

I must thank Valli and Padma for the honour not mention Kamalika for organising the place!

This is a mild tonak you may use more of the masala starting from laung/cloves to chillies to get stronger gravy.

Alsande cho Tonak

Recipe Source: Sheetal

Ingredients:

½ kg alsande, soaked overnight
1 onion, chopped fine
1 tomato chopped fine
1 coconut, freshly grated
1 onion, sliced
3-4 garlic cloves
10 laung/cloves
1 inch dalchini/cinnamon ( adjust)
3 tblspn dhania/ coriander seeds
4-6 kali mirch/ pepper corns
12-13 dry chillies
½ tsp saunf/fennel seeds
Haldi/turmeric
1 pinch nutmeg
2 dagad phool/star anise petals
Oil
Salt

Method:

In the alsande add the onion and tomato and salt you can either pressure cook for 2-3 whistles or cook outside in an open pot till the alsande are cooked.
Meanwhile in a kadhai/wok add a little oil and fry the cloves, cinnamon, coriander seeds, pepper, dry chillies, fennel seeds, nutmeg and the star anise and set aside.
In the same kadhai/wok roast the coconut with the onions and garlic.
Grind the coconut with turmeric to a fine paste.
Add to the alsande and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste.
Serve with pav garnished with dhania/ coriander.

This joins the May Week 1 Cooking from Cookbook Challenge Group.

Linking to The Veggie Indian, Lisa’s blog and Susan’s blog.

Round up of “#FireUpYourOven" Mega Marathon this April'2015

2015-05-02T08:48:00.000+05:30

April is a busy month as we have Mega Marathon. Mega means we choose a theme and follow the theme entire month. This time around we are
Baking!!
These are my bakes
Day 1

Banana and Burnt Butter Pudding

A delicious pudding with over-ripe bananas and burnt butter.

Day 2

Baked Bread Pudding

A bread, stale bread that gets a makeover...

Day 3

Malva Pudding

A delicious Pudding that the girls have named as Alpineliebi pudding.

Day 4

Self Saucing Chocolate Pudding

A chocolate pudding that is gooeyly delicious,

Day 5

Benne Wafers

I did not expect these cookies to be liked at home. Was I wrong...?

Day 6

Karachi Bakery Biscuits

Day 7

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

Day 8

Gingerbread Cookies

Day 9

Samo Rice Savoury Cookies/ Varya Tikhat Biscuit

Day 10

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Day 11

Focaccia Pugliese or Potato Focaccia Pugliese

Day 12

Focaccia Caprese

Day 13

Cauliflower Cheese with Walnuts and Bread Crumbs

Day 14

Roast Garlic

Day 15

Spinach Cheese Empanadas

Day 16

Empanada Vegetariana (Vegetarian Empanada)

Day 17

Plum and Apple Cobbler

Day 18

Egg-less Date and Walnut Cake

Day 19

Orange Marmalade Scone Ring

Day 20

Melon Pan (Japanese Melon Bread)

Day 21

Apple Upside Down Cake

Day 22

Sweet Potato Pound Cake

Day 23

Fresh Strawberry Cake with Decoration Basics

Day 24

Victoria Sandwich Cake/ Victoria Sponge Cake

Day 25

Mocha Coffee Cake with Espresso Glaze

Day 26

Marble Cake

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51

An InLinkz Link-up

Marble Cake

2015-04-30T19:31:00.000+05:30

Marble Cake

I mentioned when I shared the Mocha Coffee Cake with Espresso Glaze my friend’s daughter, Saavani, loved the cake and wanted me to bake a cake for her. I decided to “#FireUpYourOven" to make the same cake.

Disaster struck in the form of “NO COFFEE”!

Being Dhulivandan or Rang Panchmi the day we play colours, all the shops were closed. That is when I decided to make a Marble cake.

A slight change in the ingredients and method gave me such a delicious and soft rich marble cake quite unlike the once I have eaten in the past.

Made me wonder why on earth I used to think that making a Marble Cake is beyond my capabilities.

This last month has been a wonderful journey with my friends, who like me have been preparing for this beautiful Mega Marathon that we have had. With a heavy heart I bid adieu to this series only to be back with more delicious bakes that I will make from my friends blogs. For if I thought I will shrink the size of my bookmark list I am mistaken its grown by leaps and bounds!

Marble Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups Maida/APF
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
12 tblspn butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup sour cream
1 ½ cup milk
2 tblspn cocoa dissolved in 1 ½ tblspn hot water

Method:

Grease an 8 inch pan.
Preheat oven to 350⁰F/180°C.
Sift flour, baking powder, and soda, salt.
Combine butter and sugar at medium speed till pale and fluffy.
Add the sour cream and beat well.
Add 1 egg at a time and beat after each addition.
Add vanilla essence.
Add the flour alternating with milk the last addition should be flour.
Divide the flour in 2 parts.
In one add cocoa mixture and mix well.
The third will remain as vanilla.
In the pan add vanilla batter the add chocolate next and with a knife mix the batter.
Bang the pan on the counter 3-4 times to settle the batter.
Bake for 45 minutes or till a skewer inserted in the cake come out clean.
Transfer the mould to a wire rack for 10 minutes then unmould and cool.

Marble Cake

Day 26

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51

An InLinkz Link-up

Mocha Coffee Cake with Espresso Glaze

2015-04-29T15:00:00.000+05:30

Mocha Coffee Cake with Espresso Glaze

For my younger ones birthday I wanted to order a cake for her.

Hubby and she were adamant that I should make the cake not order it.

That is when I, “#FireUpYourOven" (d) to bake 3 cakes.

One was a Date and Walnut Cake, A Pound Cake that I covered with ganache the third one was this delicious cake that was appreciated a lot.

In fact one of my friend's daughter asked me for a full cake for her.

Mocha Coffee Cake with Espresso Glaze

Recipe Source: Joy of Baking

Ingredients:

Mocha Coffee Cake with Espresso Glaze

2 cups Maida/APF
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
12 tblspn butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup sour cream
2 tblspn cocoa dissolved in 1 ½ tblspn hot water
2 tblspn coffee dissolved in 1 tblspn hot water

Glaze:

1 ½ tblspn coffee dissolved in 2-3 tblspn water
¾ cup powdered sugar

Method:

Grease an 8 inch bunt pan.
Preheat oven to 350⁰F/180⁰C.
Sift flour, baking powder, soda, salt.
Combine butter and sugar at medium speed till pale and fluffy.
Add 1 egg at a time and beat after each addition.
Add vanilla essence.
Add the flour alternating with sour cream the last addition should be flour.
Divide the flour in 3 parts.
In one add cocoa mixture and mix well.
in the second add the coffee and mix well.
The third will remain as vanilla.
In the bunt pan add a scoop of coffee, add vanilla, the add chocolate next to one another.
Bang the pan on the counter 3-4 times to settle the batter.
Bake for 45 minutes or till a skewer inserted in the cake come out clean.
Transfer the mould to a wire rack for 10 minutes then unmould and transfer to a serving tray.
Pour the glaze over the cake and let the cake cool completely before serving.

Mocha Coffee Cake with Espresso Glaze

Day 25

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51

An InLinkz Link-up

Victoria Sandwich Cake/ Victoria Sponge Cake

2015-04-27T21:42:00.000+05:30

Victoria Sandwich Cake/ Victoria Sponge Cake

A delicious cake that has history around it!

You know I love anything that has a history so this one was to be baked.

So let’s see the history here…

Careful ladies you are treading royal path here as

Queen Victoria lent her name to this traditional cake. She was said to have greatly enjoyed with afternoon tea.

This cake is often confused with sponge cake, it is baked in to shallow tins, sandwiched together with jam and finished on the top with a light dusting of castor sugar.

Try a little butter cream sandwiched in along with the jam filling.

The cake can be made in one tin too but apparently this method of using two tins to bake it gives better texture. The one tin has large air holes.

Surprised I “#FireUpYourOven" to make this cake? I had takers for it? Actually the person who finished it was my elder one Apeksha. For some reason, I do not remember why she was sulking, had not eaten anything since morning. No amount of cajoling was working so I let her be.

In the evening at around 4 pm she was hungry and came out of her room to see this cake. She sat down and finished it with that her usually sunny nature came out too! Even she could not remember why she was sulking!!

I forget what book I have copied it from. Once I go back to the library I will get the name and update it.

Victoria Sandwich Cake/ Victoria Sponge Cake

Ingredients:

115g butter
115 g castor sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
115 g self-rising flour
Jam a little extra castor sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
Cream the butter until pale, light and fluffy.
Fold in the eggs and flour a little at a time until totally incorporated
Spoon the mix evenly into 2 greased 18cm/7in sandwich tins, smoothing the top gently.
Place in the center of the oven, until well risen and golden.
The top when lightly pressed should spring back.
This will take approximately 20-30 minutes.
Remove from the tins and turn onto a cooling rack immediately.
When completely cold, sandwich together with jam and sprinkle the top lightly with castor sugar.

Victoria Sandwich Cake/ Victoria Sponge Cake

Do come back tomorrow to check out what my friends and I dish out tomorrow...

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51

An InLinkz Link-up

Fresh Strawberry Cake with Decoration Basics

2015-04-27T03:30:00.000+05:30

Fresh Strawberry Cake

In the month of October 14 for Baking Partners we were to make Strawberry Cake. The cake was suggested by Divya Ashok of Divya’s diner. She is an awesome cake designer, bakes and sells cake for birthdays, weddings etc.

Divya had suggested making a fresh strawberry cake with simple cake decoration; these decorations were something we could use in future.

Actually Swathi had mentioned that we could use any fresh fruit, we had the option of making it eggless too but after seeing the delicious and beautiful cake that was attached I thought I will wait for strawberries to come to the market.

Needless to say I was late and now since I was late I decided to “Fire my Oven this April” in the month of February. The final cake was done on Valentine day!

Fresh Strawberry Cake

Fresh Strawberry Cake with Decoration Basics

Recipe adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

Ingredients:

This recipe holds good for two 8”cake layers.

For the Cake:

2 ¼ cup of Cake flour, sifted
4 tsps of Baking powder
1 tsp of Salt
1 ¾ cups of Sugar
¾ cup of Unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks or 12 tblspn)
4 large eggs (or 6 large egg whites), room temperature
¾ cup of Strawberry puree
¼ cup of Milk
2 tsps of Vanilla extract
1 tsp of Strawberry extract (optional), if you don’t get good ripen strawberries

For the Strawberry Puree

907 grms fresh Strawberries very ripe (frozen strawberries without sugar)
1 tblspn of Sugar

Method:

For the Strawberry Puree:

Wash and hull fresh ripe strawberries. Cut it in to small pieces and transfer it to a bowl.
Add a tblspn of sugar and give a quick mix. Cover it and allow it to sit for 2-3 hours/ overnight in the refrigerator. Strawberries will become tender and juicy.
Simmer the tender strawberries in a pan with ¼ cup of water for 20-25 mins in low flame. (Taking care not to burn any). Mash it well with a spatula and allow it to cool.
Transfer the contents to the blender with ¼ cup of water and puree the cooked strawberries.
Filter the puree to remove any chunky pieces. As this will result in a mushy cake.
Again bring the filtered puree to the stove and slow cook it in low flame for another 15 mins. Reduce the puree to 1/4 cup. (If you have a little more puree that’s fine. You can use that as a filling later)
Strawberry concentrated puree is ready.

For the Cake:

Preheat oven to 180°C/350° F.
Grease and dust (flour) two 8” pans.
Take the butter cut it in to pieces and allow it to sit at room temperature.
Break the eggs in a bowl and keep it ready.

Wet Ingredients:

In a small bowl, take ¼ cup of cooked strawberry puree and add ¼ cup of milk and whisk it.
Add vanilla extract & strawberry extract (optional).
Whisk in eggs, one at a time and keep the mixture ready.

Dry Ingredients:

In a large mixing bowl, sift cake flour. (Standard substitution will be 1 cup cake flour = 1 cup of APF - 2 tblspn of APF + 2 tblspn of corn starch)
Add baking powder and salt. Mix it slowly with a hand held mixer.
Toss in softened butter and continue mixing till you get ‘bread crumbs’ like texture.
Slowly add the wet ingredients mixture little by little and the cake batter is ready.
The colour of the batter is the colour of the cake once baked and it’s not going to turn pink. So if you want the cake to look pink, add few drops of beet juice or red food dye. ( I added colour).
Pour the batter equally in to two prepared pans. The mixture will not be runny and it will be difficult to spread. Don’t use spoon to spread it, instead drop the pans on the counter multiple times to level the batter.
Bake for 25-30 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Once done, remove the pans from the oven and let it sit in the counter for 10 mins.
(Tip: Press the bulges of the cake with a wet clean white cloth as soon as you remove from the oven. Taking care all the time not to burn your hands. You may not need to trim a lot of cake, while stacking also it gives clean edges.)
Cover it with plastic wrap and transfer it to the freezer for a night. (Make sure your cake is completely wrapped and is not exposed, else your cake might turn dry).

Decorating a Cake:

Remove the cake from the freezer 4 hours before you start decorating and place it at room temperature.

Basic Butter cream Frosting Recipe

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups of Unsalted butter, softened
4 ½ cups of Powdered sugar, sifted
3 tblspn of Heavy cream
A pinch of Salt
1 tsp of Clear vanilla extract

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, add softened butter and mix it till it becomes creamy.
Add sifted powdered sugar, heavy cream, salt and clear vanilla extract and mix it for couple of mins.
Delicious butter cream is ready.

Basic Cake Decoration:

Keep your things ready.

You may need a turn-table( I do not have), cake board, a spatula, cakes, butter cream, a small spoon.

Method:

Levelling, Filling & Stacking the layers:

Trim the edges and level the cake.
Take a cake board. Add a spoon of frosting in the center and spread it. Top it with a cake layer. Trimmed edge facing down.
Add a tblspn of strawberry puree to ¼ cup of frosting (Since my puree had been licked clean from the container I used plain butter cream).
Mix it and fill it between the cakes. Spread evenly with a spatula.
Stack another layer on top with trimmed side facing down.
Add ½ cup of frosting on top and spread it evenly on the sides. Just make sure the cake is totally covered with frosting. This is called crumb coat. (We are just locking up the crumbs of cake with the frosting). Let it sit in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Remove the cake from the refrigerator and add generous amount of frosting on top and sides. Spread the frosting. You don’t need to have a smooth finish as we are going to have an unfinished look. (This is the look I wanted and could manage without stretching my art skills).

For Unfinished look:

Take a spoon. With the rounded sided up slowly move on the sides from down to up, creating a pattern on the cake.
Then on top creating a rustic unfinished look. It’s easy & very simple to follow.

Rosette Cake:

Another popular and most beautiful decoration will be the rosette. It’s simple and very easy to follow. (May be someday I will have the courage to try this look).

Things needed:

Crumb coated cake, decorating bags, 1M tip & turn-table

Method:

Cut the ends of decorating bags and insert tip 1M inside.
Place the bag on a cup and fill ½ of decorating bag with frosting.
Roll the edges and you are all set to pipe.
Start in the lower side of the cake. Make a dot and pipe all around the dot like a circle. Go all the way around the cake. Try not to leave space between the roses.
In the end cover-up all the spaces with the frosting.

Fresh Strawberry Cake

Day 24

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51/a>

An InLinkz Link-up

Apple Upside Down Cake

2015-04-24T21:06:00.000+05:30

Apple Upside Down Cake

Picture this scene…

You are alone when you baked this cake. It was done it was cooling on the dining table.

The main door opens and all the noise that accompanies the girls follows with silence, deadly silence, scary silence!

They walk in the kitchen and say,” Mamma the cake looks amazing!” Pleased I walk out to see the apple slices have disappeared! They have been peeled off the cake. Explains the silence!

So I “#FireUpYourOven“to bake it again this time I took pictures first before I let them alone with the cake.

Apple Upside Down Cake

Ingredients:
For the fruit layer:

2 tblspn butter
½ cup sugar
3 apples, sliced thin

For the Cake:

3 tblsps milk
3 large eggs
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups sifted cake flour**(see below)
¾ cup sugar
¾ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
13 tblspn unsalted butter, softened [184 grms]

Method:

Grease the cake mould with butter.
Sprinkle the sugar. Arrange the apple slices. Set aside.
Preheat your oven to 180⁰C/350⁰ F.
Lightly whisk together milk, eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl.
Place dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix on low speed for 30 seconds, until blended.
Add the butter and half the egg mixture, and mix until dry ingredients are moistened.
On medium speed, beat for one minute. This will aerate and develop the cake’s structure. Scrape down sides.
Add the remaining egg mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds between each addition. Scrape down sides.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Smooth surface with a spatula.
Bake for 55-65 minutes (35-45 minutes if baking in a fluted tube pan), until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let cake cool on a rack in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a greased wire rack.
If using a loaf pan, flip the cake over so the top is up.

**For making Cake flour at home - Take one cup of all purpose flour and remove 2 tbsp from it. Replace the 2 tbsp flour with corn flour and sift together 2-3 times. Cake flour is ready to use.

Apple Upside Down Cake

Day 21

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51

An InLinkz Link-up

Melon Pan (Japanese Melon Bread)

2015-04-23T21:30:00.000+05:30

Melon Pan (Japanese Melon Bread)

In the We Knead to Bake group Apana had chosen the Melon Pan.

We had loved it but in my site crash I have lost this delicious bread.

So isn’t this a good excuse to “#FireUpYourOven”? On the day I baked these we had some unexpected guests so no pictures of the new Melon Pan making do with the old ones only.

The name itself seemed so different that I was intrigued.

Needless to say it was baked and over in no time.

This bread is a Japanese bread they call “Melon Pan”. There are no melons in this bread. Pan is bread in Japanese. This bread is made as buns and is basically soft, rich and somewhat sweet bread covered by a layer of crunchy cookie.

The melon may come from the sugar cookie topping is usually scored in a crosshatch pattern. This is similar to the Japanese presentation of a melon wedge which is also cut into a crosshatch pattern, and bent backwards for serving. Or it could be that the surface of the cookie dough is cracked much like rock melon or cantaloupe, and hence the name. Apparently, some Japanese bakers also use melon extract in these buns to add fragrance.

The bread dough for these buns is generally plain; you can add chocolate chips, cream cheese, and custard / pastry cream or even chopped chocolate. The choice is yours.

The cookies dough is again open to any tweaks you choose chocolate, green tea, pineapple, etc if you like.

Both dough are made with egg as this gives the bread a better texture. If you don’t eat egg, you can leave them out, but substitute for it in the bread dough with a ¼ cup of curd/ yogurt.

Melon Pan taste best on the day they are made. If you are left with any Melon Pans for the next day warm them slightly before serving.

This recipe makes 8 burger bun sized (the ones we get in India) Melon Pan. You can bake a half batch or even make smaller Pan by dividing both dough into 10 or 12 instead of 8.

Please see this video before you start making the bread. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z0e-GKJA10

Melon Pan (Japanese Melon Bread)

Adapted from A Bread A Day

Yield: 8 medium to largish Melon Pan

Ingredients:

For bread dough:

1 ¾ cups maida/ all-purpose flour (plus extra as required)
2 tbsp milk powder
1 tsp instant yeast
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup cold water
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp sugar
25gm butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup chocolate chips

For cookie dough:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking powder
A large pinch of salt
60gm butter, at room temperature
¼ cup castor sugar (increase to 1/3 cup for sweeter dough)
1 large egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest
Castor sugar for dusting (granulated sugar will do too)

Method:

Before you start watch this video.
Whisk together the flour, powdered milk, yeast, and salt in the bowl.
In a small bowl, beat the egg and cold water till well blended. Add this to the flour mixture in the bowl.
Knead (on low speed in the food processer or with the handheld mixer) till the dough comes together.
Now increase the speed to medium speed to get stiff dough.
Add the sugar and knead well.
Now add the butter and knead (first at slow speed and then on medium) until the butter is completely incorporated into the dough and the dough becomes smooth and elastic. The reason you knead the dough is that a well-kneaded dough develops gluten.
Shape the dough into a ball, and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let it rise for about an hour or till double in volume.

As the dough is rising make the cookie dough:

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a bowl cream the soft butter and sugar till fluffy.
Beat in the egg and vanilla extract till combined.
Add the flour mixture, lemon zest.
Beat until just combined.
Shape the dough into a cylinder to make the flattening job easier and wrap in cling film.
Refrigerate the dough until required.

Meanwhile the bread dough:

Place it on a lightly floured work surface.
Lightly grease your baking sheet or line it with parchment. Deflate the dough gently and divide it into 8 equal portions. Cover them all and work on one portion to prevent drying out.
Shape each portion into a smooth ball like for bread rolls.
Unwrap the reasonably firm cookie dough cylinder.
Slice the cylinder into 8 equal portions.
Flatten the cookie dough between two pieces of plastic sheets or cling film with a flat bottomed pan. It should be reasonably thin
Take a ball of slightly puffed bread dough do not deflate it
Place the circle of cookie dough on top of it.
Gently press the cookie dough edge to the bread dough ball so that it covers the top and sides of the ball, but leaves the bottom open.
Holding the covered bread dough by the underside gently press it into some castor sugar.
Then using a scraper or the blunt side of a knife, mark the top of the cookie dough side of the bread roll with a cross hatch/ diamond pattern. Mark deep pattern without cutting the cookies dough layer otherwise it will disappear when the bread rises and bakes.
Transfer to the greased or parchment lined baking sheet.
Repeat this with the remaining cookie dough and bread dough balls. Let them rise for an hour under cover.
Towards the end of one hour preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F for about 25 minutes, until the tops of the Melon Pan just start turning brown. (If you let them brown too much, the underside of the bread will burn.)
Transfer to a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

Melon Pan (Japanese Melon Bread)

Day 20

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51

An InLinkz Link-up

Orange Marmalade Scone Ring

2015-04-22T20:58:00.001+05:30

Orange Marmalade Scone Ring

I have love Enid Blyton stories!!

You don't know Her?

For those who do not do not know her, she was an British author who has churned out books that are enjoyed by kids from babyhood to teenage.

But coming back to Enid Blyton books my favourite were Famous Five. They went camping,solved strange cases etc. all on their own and always used to eat scones, tea cakes, ices…

But natural I had to make this scone.

I started out with the homemade plum jam that Vivek had given, but last minute I changed my mind. Wish I had not, I would have had lovely contrast not to mention everyone loves the jam.

Vivek are you listening?

Orange Marmalade Scone Ring

Recipe Source: Women’s Weekly (Baking)

Ingredients:

2 cups (300 grams) self raising flour-sift
1tblpns caster sugar
30g butter, chilled and chopped coarsely
3/4 cup (180ml) milk
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1/2 cup raisins -coarsely chopped
1 tblspn icing sugar-for dusting

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a tray.
Sift flour and mix well with sugar in a bowl
Rub in butter until it resembles crumbs.
Whisk the milk and egg in a small bowl add to the flour mixture.
Use knife to cut milk mixture through flour mixture to make soft and sticky dough.
Turn dough onto floured surface; knead lightly until smooth.
Roll dough into 30cm x 40cm rectangle.
Spread jam over dough; sprinkle with raisins.
Roll dough firmly (but not too tightly) from one long side; place log onto baking tray.
Curve the log to form ring; press ends together to seal. Cut around outside of ring at 4 cm intervals.
Cutting all the way down to the tray but not cutting all the way through to the inside of the ring.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Serve warm dusted with sifted icing sugar.

Orange Marmalade Scone Ring

Day 19

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51

An InLinkz Link-up

Egg-less Date and Walnut Cake

2015-04-21T08:30:00.000+05:30

Egg-less Date and Walnut Cake

My younger one is nut outside!

She does not like nuts in her cakes hence nut outside!!

But this is one cake she likes because of the coffee in the cake.

But my husband likes it a lot. In fact I have to stop him many times from buying dates so that this cake is made again and again.

But inspite of having made it so many times I have not liked the pictures, I think I need suggestions for pictures!

Egg-less Date and Walnut Cake

Recipe Source: CoolLassie

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cup all purpose flour

¾ walnuts, chopped coarsely (80g)

1 cup finely chopped dates

¼ cup + 2 tbsp oil

2 tbsp butter

¾ brown sugar

¼ sugar

¼ cocoa

1 ts[p baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

3 tbsp milk

1 tbsp orange zest

1 cup hot water + 1 ½ tbsp coffee

1 tbsp flax seed

3 tbsp hot water

Method:

Make strong coffee with 1 cup hot water.

Soak the flax seed mix in the 3 tbsp hot water.

Sift the cocoa and flour, add salt.

Chop the dates and add to the hot coffee. Let the dates get mushy in the hot coffee.

Line 8 ½ to 4 ½ inch loaf pan with aluminium foil and grease with butter.

Preheat oven to 176°C.

15-20 minutes later add baking soda + orange zest to the date mix. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

Combine sugar+oil+butter+milk+vanilla essence.

Add the dry mix and the flax seed mix.

Add chopped walnuts.

Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes.

Day 18

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51

An InLinkz Link-up

The Mad Scientist's Kitchen!!

Avocado Milkshake

Avocado Milkshake

Avocado Milkshake

Avocado Milkshake

Semolina Bread

Semolina Bread

Aehobakjeon (Korean Zucchini Pancakes) with Sesame Dipping Sauce

Zucchini !

Aehobakjeon (Korean Zucchini Pancakes)

Sesame Dipping Sauce

Korean Cauliflower Stir Fry

Korean Cauliflower Stir Fry

Gattibajje

Gattibajje

Moong Vada/ Fried Moong Vada

Moong Vada

Masala Vada/ Chana Dal Vada/ Chattambade

Masala Vada/ Chana Dal Vada/ Chattambade

Fruity Popsicles

Fruity Popsicles

Chocolate And Coffee Ice Cream

Chocolate And Coffee Ice Cream

Cashew Nut and Almond Kulfi/Qulfi/Khulfi

Cashew Nut and Almond Kulfi Cashew Nut and Almond Kulfi/Qulfi/Khulfi

Chocolate Heart of Darkness Cakes

Chocolate Heart of Darkness Cakes

Nachos and Salsa

Popcorn

Pound Cake

Pound Cake

Akki Bhakari/ Akki Rotti/ Tandula-chi-Bhakari

Akki Bhakari/ Akki Rotti/ Tandula-chi-Bhakari

Alsande cho Tonak at BM#50 Meet

And I panicked and made a SOS visit to Sheetal!

Alsande cho Tonak

Round up of “#FireUpYourOven" Mega Marathon this April'2015

Gingerbread Cookies

Cauliflower Cheese with Walnuts and Bread Crumbs

Marble Cake

Marble Cake

Mocha Coffee Cake with Espresso Glaze

Hubby and she were adamant that I should make the cake not order it.

Mocha Coffee Cake with Espresso Glaze

Victoria Sandwich Cake/ Victoria Sponge Cake

A delicious cake that has history around it!

You know I love anything that has a history so this one was to be baked.

Victoria Sandwich Cake/ Victoria Sponge Cake

Fresh Strawberry Cake with Decoration Basics

Fresh Strawberry Cake

Fresh Strawberry Cake with Decoration Basics

Apple Upside Down Cake

You are alone when you baked this cake. It was done it was cooling on the dining table.

Apple Upside Down Cake

Melon Pan (Japanese Melon Bread)

Melon Pan (Japanese Melon Bread)

Orange Marmalade Scone Ring

You don't know Her?

Orange Marmalade Scone Ring

Egg-less Date and Walnut Cake

She does not like nuts in her cakes hence nut outside!!

Egg-less Date and Walnut Cake

Cashew Nut and Almond Kulfi

Cashew Nut and Almond Kulfi/Qulfi/Khulfi