Picture Galleria

Beverages


Soups and Salads




Chutneys / Dips / Powders



Pickles / Sauces / Jams





Round The Clock












Breakfast / Brunch

Lunch / Dinner

Non-Veg Delights








Veggie Delights













Breads / Cookies










Cakes









Desserts

Read More »

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolate Chip Muffins
Recipe Source: Joy of Baking

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1 cup (240 ml) milk or cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
2/3 cups (135 grams) granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (170 grams) milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips

Topping:
1 tablespoon (15 grams) granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Position rack in center of oven. Butter, or line with paper liners, 12 - 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch muffin cups.
• In a large measuring cup or bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract.
• In another large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• Stir in the chocolate chips.
• With a rubber spatula fold the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter, into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result.
• Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop.
• In a small bowl combine the topping ingredients and then sprinkle a little topping on each muffin.
• Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 18 - 20 minutes.
• Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan.
• Makes 12 regular sized muffins.

I am sending this to:

1-Ria for Monthly Mingle- Chocolate Extravaganza, originally started by Meeta
2-Champa's Bake-off event.

Read More »

Milk Liqueur

It’s December again, my favorite month of the year…… I love this Christmas season, cold winter days, smell of baked goodies, wines, Christmas decorations……the season I eagerly wait for every year….mostly to bake Fruit cakes :)…… hope you all have started your Christmas preparations by now… Here I have already made my wines and baked my first batch of Fruit cakes :)……

Now coming to the recipe for Milk Liqueur, I saw this recipe at Donna Currie’s place originally from Serious Eats…. I immediately wanted to make this Liqueur, but living in a country where alcohol is prohibited it’s impossible to get Vodka or Grappa …. So my next option was using homemade wines :)… so I tried this recipe with my Mixed Fruit Wine and we really loved it… I am now eagerly waiting for my next summer vacation to try its original version with Vodka…. So you can understand how much we loved this one :)…It’s something different and unique… If you like Baileys Irish Cream you will definitely like this too… so try making Milk Liqueur this Christmas and impress your guests…. you only need 5 ingredients and 10 days to make this unique drink :)....

Milk Liqueur

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups grappa or unflavored vodka
2 cups whole milk
2 cups sugar
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 70%), grated
1/2 lemon, seeded and chopped, with rind

Method:

• Pour the grappa and milk into an impeccably clean half-gallon glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Scoop in the sugar, chocolate, and lemon. Cover the jar tightly and shake well to help the sugar begin to dissolve. It will look curdled; that's as it should be, and perfectly safe. Set aside in a cool, dark place and shake or stir with a clean spoon every day for 10 days. Set a cheesecloth-lined colander over a bowl and pour in the mixture. When the mixture has finished draining, squeeze the cloth to release as much of the liquid as possible, and discard the solids.
• Line a sieve with a paper coffee filter. Pour in the liqueur and let the mixture drip through the clean bowl—this can take up to 24 hours. Change the filter when it becomes clogged with the residue from the liqueur. I repeat this step once or twice more after all of the liqueur has passed through to clarify it as much as possible.
• Pour the liqueur into a decanter with a tight-fitting top. It will keep at room temperature for up to six months.

Sending this to Ria for the Monthly Mingle- Chocolate Extravaganza, originally started by Meeta



Related Posts:

• Mixed Fruit Wine
• Dates Wine
• Carrot Whisky / Carrot Wine
• Ginger Wine
• Rich Fruit Christmas Cake

Read More »

Unakka Chemmeen Chammanthi Podichathu / Dry Prawns Chutney Powder :)....

My dad loves fish and he insisted on having fish every day. So when fresh fish was not available mom used to make curries like chemmenum mangayum, unakka meenum vazhakkayum,unakka meenum murigakkayum or dry side dishes like unakkameen varuthathu, unakkameen chamanthi or this chammanthi podi. Recently I grabbed a packet of dry prawns and I phoned my mom’s sister for the recipe ;) This easy to make quick side dish goes very well with boiled rice and is best served with Kanji (rice gruel) :)...…Yummy….:)

Unakka Chemmeen Chammanthi Podichathu (Dry Prawns Chutney Powder)

Ingredients:
Clean Dry Prawns-150gm
Chumannulli / Shallots-10
Grated Coconut- 1 ½ cups
Green Chillies-3-4
Curry Leaves-1 stalk

Method:
Grind coarsely all the ingredients together in a mixy. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and sauté the ground mixture stirring well, add salt if necessary. Serve hot as a side dish with Kanji (rice gruel) or with rice, curd and a mezhukkupuratti or thoran.

Read More »

White Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles

By now all of you must have understood that I love to make different varieties of truffles at home….. So when I was searching for ideas on what to do with the Pumpkin Puree left over from my Pumpkin Coffee Mousse, I ended up with the idea of making Pumpkin Truffles….. Saw this White Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles at Jenn Cuisine….. White chocolate pumpkin ganache came out perfect for me and of course handling this extremely soft ganache is a little difficult but proper chilling makes the job easier! We all loved this melt in the mouth Pumpkin Truffles. Try it…… It’s also a great Christmas or Thanksgiving gift for family and friends :)



White Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles
(Adapted from Jenn Cuisine)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp heavy cream (that's a total of 3/8 c.)
1/2 vanilla bean (I used 1 tsp Vanilla essence)
340gm (12 oz) white chocolate
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
pinch cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 cup confectioner's sugar
340gm (12 oz.) dark chocolate
1 cup gingersnap cookies



Method:

• Pour 340gm (12 oz) white chocolate into a medium mixing bowl.
• In a separate small bowl, measure out pumpkin puree and add seasonings. Set aside.
• Add cream to a medium sauce pan, and scrape in vanilla.
• Heat on medium, stirring constantly, until cream just comes to a boil.
• Pour cream over chocolate, and whisk until chocolate is melted and smooth.
• Then, while still stirring constantly, whisk in your pumpkin & seasonings.
• Set aside until cooled to room temperature.
• Chill in the fridge overnight.
• Scoop small mounds onto parchment lined baking sheets. Freeze 30 minutes.
• Rub confectioner's sugar on your hands and pour the rest into a bowl. Take a mound of ganache off of the parchment paper and drop in the bowl of powdered sugar.
• Roll it around a bit and then shape into balls and lay them on a baking sheet lined with more parchment paper. Chill in the freezer for at least 15 min.
• Pulse gingersnap cookies in a food processor until fine crumbs.
• Heat up dark chocolate over a double boiler. (Make sure chocolate isn't too hot or runny or your ganache won't hold together when you dip it. Make sure chocolate doesn't cool down too much either. The chocolate should be completely smooth and velvety).
• Take out a few truffles at a time (1/3 to 1/4 of the entire batch), and dip in the chocolate and place on another sheet of parchment paper. (To dip, since these were so fragile, you can plopped them in the melted chocolate, spooned chocolate over it to cover it, scooped it up with a spoon, transferred it to a fork to let the excess chocolate run off, then transferred it back to the spoon so that I could lay it nicely on the parchment paper).
• Sprinkle with gingersnap crumbs.
• Refrigerate for a good 3 hours.
• Enjoy!

Read More »

Melon Fruit Bowl

When I saw the Melon Fruit Bowl at Soma of e-curry blog, I thought of impressing my little one with the Honeydew Bowl …. Though I am no where close to Soma’s styling and photography skills, I thoroughly enjoyed making the melon basket… I added some strawberries to the melon… as I didn’t have any blueberries, blackberries or even mint leaves :D…visit Soma’s place to see her beautiful melon basket and recipe :) ......

Read More »

Dark Cherry Crumble Cake With Cinnamon

This is one of the long pending posts that I had in my drafts…saw this cake at Mowie’s beautiful blog and I immediately fell in love with it; I baked this cake that week itself…but somehow wasn’t able to post it at that time… I know now the cherry season is over, but still you can make these delicious cakes using frozen cherries…I halved the recipe and it came out really nice and was enough for three of us…we loved each and every bite of this cake…it is best served warm….Please visit Mowielicious blog to see the stunning pictures and recipes….

Dark Cherry Crumble Cake With Cinnamon

Ingredients:

For the cake:
200g butter, at room temperature
325g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 eggs
325g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup of milk

300g pitted dark cherries (any cherries will do)
Extra sugar for sprinkling

For the crumble:100g cold butter
70g caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
150g plain flour

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 175˚C. Grease a 30cm(12") x 22cm(9") tray and line with baking paper.
• Whisk the butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and creamy.
• Add the eggs, one by one, and mix well until fully incorporated.
• Combine the flour and baking powder and gently fold into the mixture. Do not over-mix.
• Add the milk and stir until just combined.
• Pour into your tray, top with cherries and sprinkle with some sugar until evenly covered.
• For the crumble, combine butter, sugar, cinnamon and flour in a bowl with your hands and sprinkle on top of the cherries.
• Bake for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Serve either hot or cold, topped with fresh cherries and/or custard, vanilla yoghurt or ice cream.

Sending this to:

1. Deeba for her event Fruit in Baking, originally started by Meeta.
2. Champa's Bake-off event.

Read More »

Liliko’i Bars / Passion Fruit Bars

Passion Fruit is known as Liliko'i in Hawaiian.

Liliko’i Bars / Passion Fruit Bars
(Adapted from Dana Zia)

The crust
All purpose flour - 1cup
Powdered sugar - 1/3 cups
Butter ` 1/3 cups

The filling
Eggs- 2
Sugar - 1 cup
All Purpose flour – 3 tbsp
Baking powder – 3/4 tsp
Liliko’i puree or Passion fruit puree - 1/3 cup
Powdered sugar for dusting

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
• To prepare the crust, whisk the flour and powdered sugar together in a medium bowl.
• Cut the butter into the flour mixture and mix with your finger tips until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
• Pat the crust mixture into a 6.5 x 4.5 inch baking pan, making sure to press the crust up the sides of the pan at least halfway.
• Pop it into the oven to bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges just barely start to brown.
• While the crust is baking, whisk the 2 eggs nicely.
• Then whisk in the sugar, 1/2 cup at a time.
• Mix well, add the flour and baking powder by sprinkling it over the egg mixture while whisking.
• Finally mix in the liliko’i/ passion fruit puree and mixing well.
• Pour this luminous filling into the crust and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes till the top is golden brown and when you touch the center it is firm.
• Allow it to cool completely then set in the fridge for a couple of hours to firm up.
• Cut into 1 inch squares or so, and dust with powdered sugar.
• Enjoy!

Sending these bars to Deeba for her event Fruit in Baking, originally started by Meeta.

Also to Champa's Bake-off event.

Read More »

Tomato Soufflé

Sweet Punch’s November challenge was hosted by Ria and this time she choose the topic Mousse and Soufflé… she gave 3 recipes to choose from:
1- Tomato Soufflé
2- Eggless Instant Chocolate Mousse (this I made a couple of months back and have already posted it here).
3- Chocolate Mousse (with eggs)
I wanted to try this soufflé after I saw the recipe at Maria’s place… somehow I couldn’t meet the posting date but I didn’t want to miss this challenge … so I made it today and we loved it…better late than never right? ;) … So here I am with Tomato Soufflé….

Tomato Soufflé
(Recipe source : Australian Woman's Weekely via Maria's Menu)

Ingredients:
Fresh Bread crumbs – 1/2 cup, firmly packed

Butter – 45 gm (I only used 1 tbsp)

Onion – 1 medium, finely chopped

Plain flour (maida) – 2 tbsp

Milk – 1 cup

Tomato paste – 3 tbsp (I used 1 medium tomato pureed)

Basil – 1 tbsp, finely chopped (I didn't have fresh basil, so I added 1tsp dry basil)

Eggs – 3, separated (I used 2 eggs & white of 3 eggs)

Grated Cheese – a handful ( I used mozzarella)

Extra hot chilly sauce-1tsp

Corriander Leaves-1 tbsp

Pepper powder- 1 tsp

Sugar-1/2 tsp

Method:

• Grease 4 souffle dishes (1/2 cup capacity), sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
• Melt butter in small saucepan, add finely chopped onion. Stir over low heat for 2 mins ( or MW on HIGH for about 2 mins).
• Cook until onion is soft, it doesn’t have to become brown.
• Stir in flour and stir over medium heat for a minute. (or MW on HIGH for a min).
• Remove from heat, gradually stir in milk, bring back to heat and stir over high heat until mixture boils & thickens & reaches a thick sauce like consistency. (or MW on HIGH for about 3 mins).
• Transfer to large bowl, stir in tomato paste & basil leaves, corriander leaves, pepper powder, hot cholly sauce and sugar.
• Cover the dish & let it stand for 5 mins.
• Beat egg whites in a small bowl until soft peaks from.
• Add egg yolks to the onion & milk mixture & mix well.
• Fold the egg whites into the mixture in 2 batches.
• Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared dishes.
• Sprinkle the grated cheese on top.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20- 25 mins or until lightly browned.
• Serves 4.

Refer Maria's Menu for the original recipe.

Healthier version: use brown bread crumbs & low fat milk. Also use yolks of only 2 eggs & white of 3 eggs. Use only lesser qty of butter,

Notes: The above qty serves 2 adults served with garlic bread or soup and Salad. You can use any oven safe dish to prepare this. The original recipe calls for no spices, but you can add crushed pepper while cooking onion, if you wish.
Substitute for tomato paste: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/312148

Read More »

Chundum Payarum Thoran (Vazha chundu/ Vazhakoobu) / Banana Flower & Red Gram Stir fried with Coconut

After an array of sweet indulgence posts here is a simple nutritious side dish from God’s own country :) …



Ingredients:
Vazha chundu (Banana Flower)-1 small
Van payar (Red Gram)-1/2 cup
Freshly grated coconut-1/2 cup
Chumannulli (Shallots)-6-8
Dry red chillies-2-3 nos
Jeerakom (Cumin seeds)-1/2 tsp
Garlic cloves-2
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Curry leaves- few
Mustard seeds-1/4 tsp

Method:

• Clean and remove the outer layer of vazha chundu and chop finely.
• To prevent discoloration of vazha chundu rub the chopped vazha chundu with a table spoon of oil and little salt and keep aside.
• Pressure cook van payar with enough water and salt and keep aside.
• Ground coarsely, coconut, shallots, dry red chilies, garlic, cumin seeds and turmeric powder.
• Heat 2 tsp oil and splutter mustard seeds.
• Add coarsely ground coconut mixture and sauté it for a minute.
• Add chopped vazha chundu and cooked van payar, mix well and cover with a lid and cook in slow flame for few minutes or until all the water evaporates.
• Serve hot with rice!

Read More »