Chapati Crisps

Say no to chips no more....

trying to teach your toddler to eat healthy can be quite a challenge..especially in this day and age when every unhealthy snack is packaged especially to attract kids..So it gives me great pleasure when my little one especially requests for these..

the simplest to make and great for the tiffin too...Also a great way to utilize left over rotis..

Ingredients:
2  - 3 rotis cut into triangles or any desired shape..
2 - 3 tsp of oil
a pinch of salt ( try to add as less as possible, so that kids have an early habit of less salt)
oregano
red chilli powder or black pepper powder
garlic powder

Method:
preheat the oven to 160 degrees, grease a flat tray or cookie sheet 1 tsp of oil (you can preheat the tray too for better results)..
mix 2 tsp of oil and all the spices with the cut roti in a bowl. (you can add your own choice of spices).
dump it all in the cookie tray and bake for 10 - 12 minutes..after removing from the oven if some pieces are not yet crisp, keep it in the oven for 3 -4 more minutes (usually doesn't take more than that).
cool completely and serve to ur little one...you could also serve it with a dip to older kids..

victoria sponge

Classic Buttery treat...

I think this would be the oldest and simplest plain butter cake recipe...Its ideal for people who want to start learning the basics of baking, and the end result is a lovely golden yellow buttery sponge cake, that can be layered with jam, nutella, or had just as it is.
This one is an old recipe, dug out of some of my mom's files...oh how i miss that file sometimes.....

layered with chocolate ganache n almonds

Ingredients:
100g butter
100 g powdered sugar
2 eggs
100 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp warm water

Method:
cream butter and sugar until it becomes soft and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time beating well. fold in sifted flour, baking powder and salt, mix lightly and evenly, stir in warm water. Spread mixture evenly in a pan.
bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes. until well risen.
serve with jam, chocolate sauce or whipped cream...or just plain doesn't matter it still tastes awesoeme.

layered with coconut cream

Chocolate Fudge

Melt in your mouth cubes..

I you are from Mumbai, or have been to any of the maharashtrian hill station (matheran, mahabaleshwar, khandala, lonavla). You would have surely brought bag their signature fudge..its gooey, its oily, not very chocolaty..and i would actually call it more of a chocolate walnut halwa, than fudge...whereas fudge in the west is block of soft chocolate, that melts in your mouth....and much better than out maharashtrian version.
Easier to make than truffles (provided you pick the quick n easy recipe) and equally yummy, this candy recipe is perfect as a home made gift or to serve and children's birthday parties, or to just eat.

Ingredients:
1 can sweetened condensed milk (400 g)
350 g dark chocolate
150 g chocolate praline/butterscotch chips (optional)
125 g whole hazel nuts
125 g whole almonds
1 tsp vanilla powder
2 pinches salt

you can also add roasted peanuts or pistachios in place of almonds and hazelnuts, or if you have a nut allergy, then you can skip the nuts all together.

Method:
Roast the nuts for 10 mins in a preheated oven at 180 degrees.
melt the chocolate either in the microwave or on a double boiler.remove from heat and add the condensed milk into the chocolate. mix to obtain a thick paste, then stir in quickly hazelnuts, vanilla and salt.
Pour into a rectangular silicone mold or a dish lined with parchment paper.
refrigerate for at least 4 hour and the cut into cubes using a good chef's knife and a cutting board. you could also try setting it in individual silicone mold. although haven'e tried it yet.

yoghurt mousse

Who says healthy can't Be tasty....

Its yoghurt, its fruit, its yummy, its healthy....especially if layered with a whole wheat sponge...YES!!mthats rite, you heard rite...substituting refined flour with whole wheat in my sponge cake recipe is an idea thats been ruminating in my mind since a while now. As i have already substituted whole wheat in most of my recipes successfully, the trick is to simply reduce the quantity of flour a little or add a mix of oat flour and wheat flour. in this case I only reduced the amount of flour from 9 tbsp to 7 tbsp (since this was a plain sponge didn't add any cocoa or custard powder, hence 9 tbsp). and thankfully my sponge turned out nice and soft and spongy.

the mousse is quick to make, and for fruit mousses, the yoghurt gives a nice tart flavour to the overall dessert.

i have so far tried a lemon mousse, orange mousse and of course strawberry mousse.....next on my list pineapple mousse......

Proud of my sponge !!!

Ingredients:
200 g strawberries, pureed
200 - 250 g hung curd (made from 500 g curd)
5 - 6 strawberries chopped
2 packets of whipped cream powder. (prepared)
10 g gelatin (if preparing in individual glasses, you can sip the gelatin)
powdered Sugar, as required.
2 sheets of sponge cake (if you want a mousse cake) / for individual mousses you can also use biscuits soaked in milk.

Method:
prepare whipped cream as per package instructions and refrigerate. Soak gelatin in two tbsp of water for 5 minutes, then add 2 tbsp of boiling water to dissolve.
Beat the hung curd with powdered sugar until smooth, make sure there aren't any lumps. add in the pureed strawberries and gelatin. fold in the whipped cream and chopped strawberries.
If you want to make individual glasses or bowls you can straight away set in those and refrigerate for 4 - hours.
For mousse cake. refrigerate for half an hour. Take a deep dish or a spring-foam pan. place a layer of sponge cake at the bottom, you can soak with a little syrup if you want, cover it with half the mousse mixture, add another layer of cake, and cover with the remaining mousse mixture. cover and refrigerate overnight for best results.

lemon mousse..

For lemon mousse: add 2 tsp of freshly grated lemon zest and 3 - 4 tbsp of lemon juice, depending on the taste and tartness.



For orange mousse : use 2 tbsp of freshly grated orange zest, 1/4 cup of orange juice, 1 tbsp lemon juice.

chocolate self-saucing pudding

Gooey Goodness....

chocolate and gooey together make awesome...i'm telling you, its like a cake on top of a pool of chocolate...no exaggeration...SERIOUSLY....

this recipe doesn't need much more of an intro...its pretty simple to make...and pretty awesome to eat... 

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup castor sugar or powdered

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup water

1 egg

For sauce:-

1/4 cup cocoa

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cornflour

1 cup hot water

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. grease 6 ramekins or 1 large baking dish.

combine the flour, sugar, and cocoa in a large bowl, add water and egg and combine well. Divide mixture between prepared dishes or cups.
Make sauce by whisking together cocoa powder, brown sugar, corn flour, and water. Gently pour over the pudding mixture.
Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.Until the crust is formed and the centre is gooey.
serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.

even better with icecream

badaam halwa

Mummy Ka Magic...

Here is that one recipe, that i haven't made myself, but I absolutely had to share it.

Almond Halwa is my mom's speciality, every winter she makes this batch of yummy melt in your mouth barfis, that are too die for.Its healthy, Its yummy and it's filled with all the love that a mom has to offer.

The funny part is I know the recipe, I've seen her make it lots of times, I've actually helped her make it many times, but still when it comes to badam halwa, I always ask her to make it instead of making it myself,Can't really explain it..buts thats the way it is with these little sweet diamonds...

Ingredients:
250g Almonds, peeled
200g sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup ghee
1 lt Milk
100g edible gum, optional

Method:
soak almonds overnight and peel. Grind almonds along with milk and make a smooth paste. Add water to sugar and cook to make sugar syrup. once the syrup is ready add ghee and the almond paste. Cook on low heat till it is quite thick and ghee starts coming on the surface ( about 1 to 1 1/2 hours).
Fry the edible gum in 1 tbsp of ghee seperately, crush and add to the halwa when it is almost dry.
Remove from heat and spread on a tray and flatten it.refrigerate to make it firm. Cut into small diamond shaped pieces.

Stromboli

Or Pizza Rolls

Its amazing how a single recipe can be made and presented in several different ways, and enjoyed by all in several different ways....

the Pizza is a classic example of this...you can make a classic large pizza, individual mini pizzas, A stromboli or a pizza roll, or mini pizza buns, or make it easier and just make toastizzas...i'm telling you when you have bread with any kind of pizza topping, you can never go wrong.

pardon the bad picture !!

A stromboli is basically a closed pizza, that looks like a log of bread from the outside , but had all the pizza topping stuffed inside...waiting to ooze out when sliced.

Although once sliced it looks good enough

There is nothing much too the recipe..
just prepare a batch of pizza dough .
prepare a batch of any type of filling that you would like..
A standard pizza filling of shredded chicken, capsicum,mushrooms, tomato sauce,onions and cheese 
Or you could try a filling with chicken and corn in white sauce.

OH THAT PERFECT BRAID !!

I tried a braided bread with a minced beef in tomato sauce and cheese which also turned out really tasty, and to look at the lovely braid...didn't even feel like cutting it..












Few tips that you should keep in mind..that i learnt from my mistakes...

• if making a simple roll with no design, please give a few cuts on the surface for the steam to be let out, and to prevent cracking and breaking
• don't make your filling very wet or runny as it will ooze out while baking creating a wet gooey mess..