Mango Basil Cheese Cake

Mango Basil Cheese Cake

Before the mango season wraps up, here is the recipe of Mango Basil Cheese Cake

All You Need:

Digestive biscuits : 100 gms

Butter : 40 gms

Mango pulp freshly blended and sieved : 2 cups

Cream Cheese : Half a cup

Powdered sugar: 50 grams

Finely chopped basil: 1 twig

Gelatin: 10gms

For Garnishing

finely sliced mango and basil leaves

Here you go:

In a mixture jar, crush digestive biscuits with butter. In a cake tin ( I used 6 inch diameter tin) spread the biscuit and butter powder evenly and press it with the help of spatula. This biscuit crust will form the base of your cake. Put the tin in fridge (on top shelf) for setting. 10 minutes will be suffice.

In a pan, heat gelatin with 2 tsf of water until it gets properly dissolved.

In a bowl, with the help of hand blender, blend mango puree, sugar, cream cheese and basil leaves.

Add the gelatin syrup to the mixture and mix properly. Make sure there are no lumps of gelatin.

Pour the mixture in pre set cake tin. and let it set in the top shelf of your fridge for 2-3 hours.

Garnish with sliced mango and basil twig.

Remarks:

1 I prefer using Alphonso Mangoes, as they tend to be sweet. This avoids me adding extra sugar.

2 The recipe requires 20 minutes of preparation and 2-3 hours of setting. My take: quick to make and can be prepared before the party.

3 I added basil leaves for that extra zing and flavor. One can replace basil with orange zest.

4 No oven. No baking required.

5 Gelatin can be replaced with Agar Agar. For those who are strict vegetarian.

waiting for your feedbacks.

 

Peanut Butter Muffin

                                                 Peanut Butter Muffin:

My sister who never favour chocolate in her indulgence, has recently developed taste for snickers. On poking, she told me that it’s the peanut flavour which is irresistible for her.

This rakshabandhan I challenged myself to prepare a whole menu based on peanut flavour. I made, Indonesian Paneer Satay, Penne pasta in pesto sauce (walnuts were replaced by peanut), Garlic bread and peanut butter Muffins. That day, I saw delight on her face.

Here is the recipe for peanut butter muffin

You need:

2 cups of refined flour

1 cup of brown sugar, powdered

1 cup peanut butter

2 medium eggs

3-4 drops of vanilla essence

Half tsf baking powder

10ml of milk

Here you go:

In a bowl, beat eggs, sugar, peanut butter and vanilla essence. Sieve flour and baking powder into the mixture. Whisk gently with roll and cut technique. Add milk to adjust consistency. It should not be too thick or flowy.

Transfer the mixture in silicon shells. I made 6 muffins from the above quantity. Make sure you fill only three quarters of moulds with batter. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for over 15min.

Unmould and serve best with cinnamon coffee.

Butterscotch Flavored Popcorn

It was a happy morning, Ranjani called me to brief an idea of blogging today evening over a cup of tea. Her presence always delights my heart. with the tea, I thought of preparing some munchies.

Here is the idea of some butter scotch flavored popcorn. say, I am always on a easy and quick side

what you need

Popcorn: 100gm (puff them in a microwave or pressure cooker)

butter 50gms

brown sugar 50gms

cream 2tsf

In a heavy bottom sauce pan, melt the brown sugar on a slow heat. Add butter once the sugar is caramelized. add the cream to the melted butter and sugar syrup. 

Put off the flame, mix the sauce in puffed popcorns.

We ready to serve.

Moroccan Curry - My version

                                                   
                                                             MOROCCAN CURRY

This is the recipe I re-tweaked for my cookery show. An easy protein and mineral rich recipe for a healthy back-up.

All you need:

Chicke pea (chole): boiled 1 cup

chopped onion 1 medium

chopped garlic

seasonal vegetables, like eggplant(brinjal), squash, sweetpotato, potato, bottle guard, pumpkin : 1 cup

Tea water: boil 2tsf tea in 1 cup water. strain.

for seasoning

finely chopped basil

oregano

black pepper

chilli flakes

salt

oil 2 tsf

In a cooker, heat the oil. saute onion and garlic till caramelised. add vegetables. saute. add chick peas. season with above seasonings. add tea water. whistle 5 times in the cooker.

serve with tortilla, garlic bread, kulcha or steamed rice

one can see the recipe at below link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9_9EYsL894

Pani Puri for Dehydration

                                               

                                          Pani Puri for Dehydration

Summers are here, and so the problems of dehydration. Often we dont feel like eating. Though when i come back from work, I feel like snacking ...

yesterday out of desperate attempt to finish left over pani puri.. i found this method.

A lemonade and puri.. Ah! delicious.

here it goes:

Pani puri pack: As much required: buy from grocery store.

lemonade: In a litre water, add 3tsf sugar, 2 lemons juice, pinch of rocksalt (common salt will do too)

puncture the puri with thumb, fill with lemonade and enjoy.

Mexican Poha

I always believe in innovating and mixing cuisines. last evening, for a quick snack, I modified our regular poha (rice flakes) into mexican style. its quick, simple and yummy.

Here what we need:

Poha (rice flakes) : 100gms
one big onion diced
taco seasoning 1tsf
tomato ketchup 1tsf
vegetable oil 2tsf
salt as per taste

Soak poha in clean water and drain immediately. in a wok, on medium flame add vegetable oil, sweat the diced onion. Add ketchup, seasoning and salt. Add the poha. Mix well for 2 minutes. and serve hot.

Potato wedges with Cheddar Cheese

Potato wedges with Cheddar Cheese

A quick recipe, great for starter or tea time.

since its a quick one, am keeping my notes short and coming to recipe directly:

All I need:

Potato wedges : Frozen 1 kg ( one can make fresh potato wedges, cut raw potatoes in wedge shape and deep fry in vegetable oil till golden brown)

onion: 1 big ( peel and chop transversely to make onion rings)

Cheddar cheese : 200gms Or as per your cheese cravings

salt, pepper, oregano powder, italian seasoning.

Recipe:

Bake the frozen wedges in oven as per packet instructions. spread onion rings evenly over them. add the seasoning. mix well with fingers. add grated cheese. bake for 10 min at 180*C .

My friends dont let me serve in dishes.. they just directly gorge it from baking tray. hope you have the same experience too.

KACCHE AAM KI BIRYANI ( RAW MANGO BIRYANI)

KACCHE AAM KI BIRYANI    ( RAW MANGO BIRYANI)

This is one of the recipes I invented for the ETV cookery show. They were demanding something innovative and going with the summer season.

I decided to innovate some classic recipe with the latest flavour of Gujarat.  I say, you imagine, feel and create the new textures only when you are creatively challenged.

Here goes my kacche aam ki biryani or say Raw mango Pilaf.. summers are synonymous to mango either raw or perfectly tender fruit. Raw mango is well known to be a remedy for heat stroke. And being a doctor, I am always searching for such ingredients to highlight and popularise my recipe. :P

Here is what one need:

Raw mango (Alfonzo is a good choice as it is little bit on sweet side): peeled and grated: 1 medium size

Steamed rice, cool : 100gms

Ghee (oil): 3tsf

Cumin: 1tsf

Onion : 1 medium: finely chopped

Ginger garlic paste: 1tsf

Green chilli: 1 coarsely chopped

Sugar : a pinch

Salt: as per taste

Turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala: 1 tsf

Chopped vegetables (beans, peas, cauliflower, carrots)

Freshly chopped coriander and some fried onions for garnishing.

Method:

In a pan, add ghee: add cumin, once they start crackling, add onions, ginger -garlic paste. Wait till the onions go transparent. Add the raw mango, sugar, vegetables, green chilli and all spices. Add 2tsf of water and cover the pan with the lid. After 5 minutes (the mango will be tender now), add the layer of precooked steamed rice.  Cover the lid again for minutes. Garnish with coriander and fried brown onions.

Ready to serve!

My notes:

1. Since raw mango is tangy, we do not need yoghurt here.

2. On scale of nutrition, it has fruit vegetables.  So rich in minerals.

3. Dry fruits can be added.

4. Served with raita. It makes a complete meal

Molten Chocolate Cake II Choco Lava

Molten Chocolate Cake 

 Choco Lava

The name itself is tempting, steaming hot molten chocolate coming out in the very first bite of the freshly baked cake. Ah!

I learnt this recipe from my senior teacher Dr Anita Verma. She bakes it often for her kids. And I told to myself that am a kid at heart too, lets cherish myself.

Here goes the recipe:

You need:

Chocolate and lots of extra dark chocolate 50gms J

Coco powder 50gms

Refined flour 100gm

Butter 5ogm

Powdered sugar 100gm

1 egg

Baking powder : quarter tsf

Recipe: in a blender, mix butter, sugar, egg, coco powder till frothy. Add sieved flour and baking soda to the mixture. Fold well. Pour the mixture into silicon moulds. Chop the chocolate into cubes of 1inch size. Put a cube in each silicon mould in the mixture. Make sure, the mixture covers the cube from all sides and there is enough space in the moulds for cake to rise.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 20 min. Serve hot.

CRISPY POTATOES WITH HERBS

CRISPY POTATOES WITH HERBS

 The launched of my first poetry book VOICES & VICES was a big deal for me, so for my friends. Their support and motivation has led me to this giant step. After the release and success, comes the party time. Friends of my poetry club insisted a homemade supper. This is a delight when you see friends talking about your poems and food. It feels like I am the centre of their appreciation. Apart from self bragging, the menu was simple but with some innovation.

Here is the recipe of starters I served with almond broccoli soup. Though preparation takes time, but trust me the efforts are fruitful. I made crispy potatoes with herbs like oregano, parsley.

What you require is:

200gms potatoes (selectively the tiniest one, there this is another variety available in the section of your supermall, which people doesn’t easily relish)

50gms butter (yes, calorie counts)

Green garlic (few stems, diced)

Oregano, onion salt, garlic salt, chilli flakes (as per the taste)

SALT (only use while serving, not in cooking, explained below).

The recipe:

Few hours before the actual cooking, marinate your potatoes. In a zip lock pouch, put potatoes (rinsed, well dried and unpeeled). Add butter, garlic stems and herbs. Lock the zip pouch and mix the contents vigorously. Keep aside for 2-3hrs. You can mix the contents few times in the pouch itself.

In a pan, bring the contents on medium heat. Cover the pan. Occasionally stir the potatoes otherwise they will stick to bottom. It might take half an hr to get the potatoes golden brown and crispy.

Just before serving add the salt. If added before, the potatoes will release their water content and they won’t be crispy enough. Rather they will taste like wedges.

Garnish with oregano, diced garlic.

Goes well with soup, side salad and for a change with sandwiches (instead of regular French fries).

Hope you enjoy. I will wait for your feedbacks.

My take away on recipe:

1.      Time consuming. Not an instant recipe when guests knock your door uninformed.

2.      Calorie rich. But sometimes you can relish.

3.      Unpeeled potatoes, preserves the roughage content.

Besan Chilla

Besan Chilla or Gram Flour Pan cake

Mornings are always beautiful if we get a full, healthy breakfast. The breakfast forms the integral part of our diet. The dietitian says that you can skip your lunch but a heavy breakfast to begin a day is must. I have seen my colleagues who don’t indulge in habit of having breakfast, cribbing and lazing out at work. I always say: Eat healthy, Stay fit.

A common recipe used in north Indian houses for breakfast is besan chilla  or we can say besan pan cake, as the recipe is quite similar. But the richness of protein derived from gram flour beats the refined flour used in pan cakes. They are the healthiest way to start a day.

Here is the recipe:

Besan (gram flour) 200gm

Onion 1 diced finely

Ginger garlic paste 1tsf

Coriander finely chopped

Cumin

Asafoetida

Green chilli

Fruit salt (baking soda)

Salt

Vegetable oil to cook.

In a bowl sieve the flour, mix all the ingredients. (You can use roasted cumin, but I like unroasted cumin here). Add 100ml of water. The consistency of batter should be flowy i.e. neither too thick nor too thin similar to pan cakes or dosa. The batter should be vigorously mixed as to avoid lumps and better turn out.

Put a non stick pan on medium heat, put one tsf of oil and spread the batter in round shape. Wait for two minutes. Flip to other side and cook again till golden brown. Instead of oil, butter can be used.

Serve with green chutney and ketchup.

Vanilla cinnamon butter cups

Vanilla cinnamon butter cups

Christmas is round the corner. Before the final evening when Santa would be knocking my door, I thought I should be ready with a new flavour cake. This time I tried Vanilla cinnamon cup cakes. The recipe is almost same for cupcakes and cakes except for the fact that cake can be cut in between and the sauce can be spread between the layers and over the top. I chose cinnamon this year, as its my favourite flavour . the mild sweet smell of cinnamon makes my heart wobble. I bought selected cinnamon sticks from Diu this vacation.

For the cup cakes:

100gm refined flour

80gm salted butter
2eggs

80gms powdered sugar

Vanilla essence

Pinch of grounded cinnamon

3/4tsf baking powder

1/4tsf baking soda

In a bowl whisk eggs, sugar and butter till the froth appears. Add vanilla essence and a pinch of cinnamon powder. In another bowl, sieve flour, baking powder and soda. Fold and mix the flour mixture in the egg mixture. Bake in greased moulds in preheated oven at 120”C for 30-40minutes.

For the cream sauce

Whisk 50ml double cream with 50gm powdered sugar, vanilla essence and cinnamon powder until peaks develop.

With the help of cone decorate the cup cakes.

Creativity is all we look for. Merry Christmas.

chick pea cutlet or diet cutlets

A heavy snack is what i crave for after a busy afternoon. They say snacking is not healthy for my knees. Well a health conscious foodie can be creative sometimes and make snacking lil bit healthier, rich in protein, low in calories and fats.

I came up with an idea of diet cutlets. Well the name diet has become rave these days and i have observed that diet food is not as delicious as fried crisp ahhhannn food.

Here i go with my chickpea cutlets.

Boil 100 gms of chickpea (chole) and 100 gm of desi channa(black pea). Mash them properly. Add chopped coriander, ginger garlic paste 1tsf, black pepper, chaat masala, salt (as per taste, mind well chaat masala has salt in it as well).  Mix properly and make a thick batter. Now make rolls of batters like cutlets (tikki). Take some oats (regular oat meal from your breakfast drawer) and sprinkle over the cutlets. (oats is healthier option than bread crumps. And they are more crispier than bread crumps).

Now shallow fry in regular vegetable oil on a pan. Or you can bake it as well.

Serve it with coriander chutney.

Muffins

My sweet tooth is an all time problem for my knees. But one has to suffer at the cost of another. Well am glad to announce that we finally bought a beater, blender cum chopper. Thanks to Vishwa for generous part payment. On a usual day, I am hardly awake past 10 pm. But the new gadget was tempting me to try the long lorn muffins, and so, at 11 pm that night, I finally decided to try my hand at the muffins with the newly purchased, opened the first time whisker. Haash!

The recipe is quite easy and quick. In a bowl, take 2 eggs, 100 gm powdered sugar, 50gm salted butter (Amul utterly butterly delicious!) and few drops of vanilla essence. It’s a shame we don’t have vanilla pods available in neighbourhood. Well, whisk it properly until it’s frothy. Add 100 gm refined flour, 1tsf baking powder and 1/4^thtsf baking soda (Yes! I use both egg and baking powder) sieving into the mixture. Whisk again. Pour the mixture in different shape silicon moulds. Bake in preheated oven at 120C for 20-25 minutes. The smell itself is sufficient to know when it’s done, though the best out there have their ways to check the muffin. Poke the knife in the middle. If it comes out clean, it’s done! But my experiment animal (Vishwa J) has his own way to check it. He will cut a wedge shape part of it over knife. If it doesn’t crumbles down, then its perfectly done. Huh! I say, “bade log! bade log!”

Time to enjoy the feast!! 

Mushrooms and greens

The idea came after i clicked this pic during a trip to polo forest. Being a foodie i never leave a chance to try something new. Although the mushrooms and greens in the pic are wild variety and so is my imagination, i thought of trying a new recipe made from button mushrooms and greens available in market.

Green mushroom penne pasta, that’s what i thought of, in first instance.

Here is the recipe: 200 gms of all wheat penne pasta boiled.

The gravy: 100 gm blanched spinach, few lettuce leaves, 2-3 walnuts: blended in a mixer jar.

In a pan, take 2tsf olive oil, sauté one onion, garlic and add 2 chopped green tomatoes. Add the mushrooms. Cook for 2 min.  Add the gravy. Add salt, black pepper, 2tsf cream, some cheese (preferably parmesan). Add the boiled pasta. Sauté for two minutes. Ready to serve. Garnish with parmesan cheese and shredded walnuts