Chocolate Mousse

After my successful last stint at baking a fancy shmancy cake, I was all encouraged to bake another one for the hubby. I had it all planned out, until, he said – No cake.“What! But it’s your birthday”, I protested!

And then he (not so) gently reminded me of the weighing scale. Yeah, that witch-of-a-gadget! Damn you, scale!

The main issue with baking a cake is what do you do with the rest of it, after eating a piece (or two or three)? I would love to take baking lessons and I’ve given it a thought in the past…but then…who is going to finish all that cake?

But a birthday is a birthday is a birthday…and what good is a celebration without some dessert? Right? So I decided I’ll make a dessert that’s pre-portioned and won’t have to sit in the fridge and tempt us for days to come. :)

Instantly, Chocolate Mousse came to mind – that creamy, delicious, chocolatey goodness, that is.

Here is how I made it –

Ingredients:

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I tend to use Ghirardelli dark, simply because I love it)
2tbsp unsalted butter
Expresso coffee (2 tbsp/ to liking)
2 cups cold heavy cream
3 eggs
1 tbsp sugar
Raspberries
Mint leaves

The recipe:

* Separate the egg whites and the yolk.
* Heat 3/4 cup cream in a 1-quart heavy saucepan until hot. Whisk together yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a metal bowl until combined well.
* Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Take it out every 15-20 seconds, depending on the strength of your microwave and give it a stir.
* Add butter and coffee to the chocolate and repeat till smooth.
* Add chocolate to the cream and stir frequently.
* Beat egg whites with sugar till they are foamy.
* Fold in egg whites in the chocolate-cream mixture.
* Beat remaining 1 1/4 cups cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Fold in gently.
* Let it cool down completely.
* Spoon mousse into your choice of stemmed glasses and chill. I used a variety of white wine and martini glasses.
* Refrigerate for 3-4 hours.

Making dessert never got so easy!

Garnish with whipped cream, mint leaves and raspberries and you have a winner!

Chocolate mousse is great for entertaining. You can make it ahead of time and it looks super cute!

Makke Di Roti Te Sarson da Saag

We Indians love the rain. Maybe because our movies have romanticized them for long. Walking hand in hand in the rain, sharing an umbrella, eating bhutta* by the roadside…gets us reminiscing of those college days? Or perhaps daydreaming of our favorite bollywood songs? Hai na?


It was such a lazy Saturday. Garam-a-garam ginger tea, marie biscuits, the fresh smell of wet soil, the downpour outside and non-stop Miu chatter inside…in short, a beautiful morning!


Anshuman’s cricket got cancelled. Aww, poor hubby! *evil grin*


…And the next thought I had was, Yay! Let’s make a good weekend lunch he’ll enjoy. :) It’s been a while since we had a hardcore Punjabi meal.


So, it was – Makke di roti te Sarson da saag! Nothing gets more “Balle balle” than this!


Sure enough, he was EXCITED to hear about the menu.


Honestly, I’m not a big fan of the makke di roti, it’s too dry for my liking. But what to do? These days, I’m a big fan of Michelle Bachmann, so I tend to be very submissive to my husband (kidding!) Jokes apart, I wanted to give it another chance. And it would just not sound right if I ate saag with regular roti or bread or rice, would it???


So here it is -


For the Saag*


Ingredients:
2 bunches of mustard leaves
1 bunch of spinach leaves
1 big red onion
1 inch cube of ginger
2 cloves of garlic
4-6 red chillies
2 green chillies
Garam masala
Jeera (Cumin seeds)
Methi seeds
Ghee/ Butter :)


Recipe:
* Wash the greens thoroughly.
* In a pressure cooker, put the greens, salt to taste, shredded ginger, garlic, green chillies and cook it all together for around 10-15 minutes.
* Spin them around in a processor for a few times.

Tip: Let the mix get at room temperature before you put it in the processor. Don’t churn it too much; I like my saag to have a little texture than smooth paste.


* Take a wok or kadhai and add ghee/ butter, based on your preference.
* Temper with jeera and methi seeds.
* Add chopped onions and sauté them till they become translucent.
* Add 2 red chillies
* Add the crushed greens.
* Let it cook for another 10-15 minutes till it all comes together.
* In a separate pan or tempering vessel, take a spoon full of ghee (I know, I know! Sorry!).
* When it’s hot, add a pinch of jeera, 2 red chillies and a pinch of garam masala, and top off the saag with this “Tadka” RIGHT BEFORE serving.


For the Makki Roti


Ingredients:
Corn Flour
A pinch of kasoori methi
Salt
Warm water


Recipe:
* Make corn flour dough using warm water and adding salt to taste and a pinch of kasoori methi.


Rolling them out is tricky!
* You’ll have to use a wax sheet or a foil/ plastic wrap as the base.
* Make a ball of dough. Use your hands to spread out the dough by pressing it instead of using a rolling pin. Make sure you spray the surface below the dough with a lot of PAM or grease. Scoop up the pressed dough using a flat spatula, or lift the entire wax sheet if using one.
* Transfer to a hot griddle pan or tawa rom the wax sheet directly. Cook both sides.


Makke Di Roti te Sarson da saag are ready! Don’t forget to top off the saag and roti with a dollop of Amul butter. Pair with a cold lassi and you’re ready to do the “burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaa”.


Meh kya – twaade vaaste ae vi kar lita :) Not bad, eh?




*Saag = Greens
*Tadka = tempering
*Bhutta = Corn on the cob

Red Velvet cake with White chocolate peppermint frosting, topped off with Kahlua & Dark chocolate sauce!!!

I don’t bake. Maybe because my mom never baked much, I didn't really take to it. Until now. Why now? Because I keep wondering how fun it will be to bake breads and cookies and cakes for Miu baby, and to have baking parties with her and her friends :)
Aww! I’m so happy to have a girl!
Yes, that’s just how it started.


But we always have to find reasons to indulge in sweetness, don’t we? So there it was…Pinkaa’s bday! I decided to bake a different cake. The definition of “different” in my head means “not chocolate”! :) If it were up to me, I would paint the world in chocolate. Dark chocolate, to be precise.


Not quite sure what to make and how to go about it, I asked a colleague and a friend. As avid bakers, both of them shared the same thought – why reinvent the wheel? You can use a cake mix from the store and STILL make it a little fancy, a little gourmet! ;)


Both their recipes were extremely fascinating. So I decided to mix them up!
Here’s what I did.


Ingredients:


For the Red velvet cake 1 package of any red velvet cake mix
1 package vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup sour cream (fat free)
½ cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
½ cup miniature chocolate chips


For the white chocolate peppermint frosting 4 ounces of white chocolate
4 ounces of cream cheese (reduced fat or fat free)
4 tbsp butter
1 tbsp of peppermint extract


For the liqueur sauce
½ cup miniature dark chocolate chips
Kahlua Liqueur


The recipe:
* Mix all ingredients from the red velvet cake together.


You’ll need to microwave the chocolate chips in the microwave, 15-20 seconds at a time, and stirring them each time.


* Bake the cake per the instructions on the box.
I used two small round pans so I could layer the cake


* Insert a toothpick in the center and see if it comes out clean to check if the cake is done.
* When the cake is done, let it cool off.
You can also stick the cake in the fridge for a little bit. This way, the frosting will stick better. * Mix all the ingredients of the frosting together.
* Give it a spin in the mixer so it becomes fluffy and creamier.
* Stick it in the fridge so it gets nice and cold.
* Liberally apply the frosting between the cakes and on top of it.
* Melt the dark chocolate chips in the microwave.
* Add Kahlua liqueur or any other liqueur of your choice.

Serve a slice of the cold cake topped with a warm drizzle of dark chocolate and kahlua.
This one turned out realllllllllllly yumm!
I’m all kicked now. I can’t wait to bake another one.

Sabudana (Tapioca) Khichdi

It’s not predictable or boring; it has just become tradition nowJ.

Ever since I first learnt that P likes “sabudana khichdi”, her birthday breakfast has always been this. And today is no different.

It’s an easy to make, light breakfast choice. And for me, it’s quite a comfort food.

Here’s how I made it.

Ingredients:

Tapioca i.e. Sabudana (2 cups)

Green chillies (4-5)

Curry leaves

Cumin seeds (Jeera)

Salt (to taste)

Sugar (a pinch)

Boiled potatoes (1 big or 2 small)

Lemon (1/2)

Ingredients for Garnishing:

Peanuts

Coriander

Recipe:

• Soak the sabudana in water for around an hour.
• Drain the water out but not completely. A little moisture is great.
• Add salt, sugar and leave it out overnight.
• In a pan, take 3-4 tbsp of oil or ghee if it’s a special occasion like today J
• Temper the cumin seeds and the curry leaves.
• Add vertically slit green chillies.
• Add cut up boiled potatoes.

Tip* - I boil the potatoes ahead of time and stick them in the fridge. They are easy to work with and don’t crumble.

• Add additional salt.
• Let is sauté for about a min or two.
• Add sabudana and let it cook for about 10 minutes.
• You may need to sprinkle little water if it looks too dry.
• If you can do without adding water, that’s best. Water can make it sticky and lumpy.
• Squeeze in the lime.

For the garnishing:

• Add chopped up coriander.
• Add roasted, crushed peanuts.

Roast peanuts. Remove peel and crush. You can do this ahead of time as well. I usually have a jar of roasted crushed peanuts at home, and it makes for some good salad garnishing.

This is the last birthday for Miss Taneja being just that….Miss Taneja.

A very very very Happy birthday, Pinkaa!!! J We wish you the very best for an amazing year to come.

Who knows what your hubby will have in store for you next year. Or maybe he’ll read this blog and follow my recipe then? J

Pairing – a hot cup of ginger tea!

Grilled Pork Loin

Hello to you too, dear audience!

Yes, that’s how I speak these days... just like my favorite character, Professor Von Drake from the Disney clubhouse! J

A long hiatus! Definitely not from cooking, but it’s been a busy summer overall to blog about it.

I’d wanted to write my first vegetarian blog, but looks like it’ll have to wait. For today, I present...*ta da*...Grilled Pork Loin!

Let me start by saying I’m not a big pork fan. Of course, who doesn’t like crispy fried bacon? J But I’m talking about pork as an entree. A few years ago, I remember eating a ‘Pork Verde’ by the beach...totally yum and it sure left a lasting impression. But other than that, I’ve never enjoyed it and hence we never cared to cook pork at home.

That notion changed on one of our recent family trips to Door County. The hubby dazzled us all...he marinated pork ribs overnight (not sure if he’s willing to share his secret recipe) and slow cooked them in the oven for over 3 hours. Boy, they were D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S!

I was so impressed; I had to grill pork again. So we got pork loin from the newly opened Mariano’s store by our house. I must tell you, that store is fabulous. If I liked doing groceries earlier, I LOVE it now!

I decided to marinate the pork loin in my version of a quick-fix verde sauce. This is a no-brainer 10 minute preparation that you’ll love. Here is what I did -

Ingredients:

Tomatillos (2 small)

Jalapeno (1 or 2, depending on preferred spice level)

Ginger (1/4^th an inch)

Garlic (1/2 a clove)

Onion (1/4 small onion)

The recipe:

§ Dry roast the tomatillos

§ In a grinder, mix all the ingredients along with the roasted tomatillos.

(Tip: while making the marinade, use as much little water as possible)

§ Make cuts in the pork loin and marinate with this mixture.

§ Refrigerate for about an hour or two.

§ Grill in the oven at 325 F for about an hour. Keep checking periodically.

Serve right off the oven. A nice cold salad and/or coleslaw compliment the grilled pork perfectly.

To my Angry birds, your revenge has been taken! J

To my vegetarian friends, my next blog is for you. I promise!

Tiranga Kebabs

“- incredible heat, humidity, crazy traffic, pollution, crowds...yet...a true sense of belonging! It’s good to be back”. This is what my facebook status said. And I cannot say it any better.

I was visiting India after 3 long years, and it felt like I never left.
The instant connection is what truly makes you feel “at home”. With a baby in tow this time, I was definitely nervous. I had heard a few scary stories from friends of their kids falling sick, and I was praying our trip stayed rather uneventful. Meher was a trooper, after all. She did great and we had a fabulous trip!

What was the highlight of our trip? Food...and more food, of course! After all, what good is an India trip if you don’t indulge shamelessly! We ate...and ate...and some more. After my initial hesitation to try roadside treats, I readily gave in...And tried very objectionable and questionable foods off the street :) thankfully, the immune system cooperated well.

Oh wait, wait, wait!! How can I possibly forget our FANTASTIC world cup victory! What a high! That was the perfect icing on the cake. See, I’m still thinking food :)

Anyhow, I got back here a few (??) pounds heavier and exhausted with eating Indian cuisine day in and day out. I said to the hubby – that’s it! No more Indian cooking for a month now. And barely 2 weeks later, here I am, craving Indian food (go figure!) and missing home...

So, I thought Tiranga* kebabs will be the perfect, healthy way to celebrate Miu’s 10 month birthday (wow, 10 months! Time sure flies. Happy 10 month birthday, my darling baby!)

Ingredients:

2lbs Boneless Chicken Breasts
Yoghurt
I can’t believe it’s not butter (you can skip this if you like)
Ginger
Garlic
Red chilli powder
Shaan Tandoori masaala
Almonds
Cashews
Sour cream
Black peppercorn or white peppercorn (if you have it)
Green chillies
Fresh Coriander
Mint Leaves


The recipe:

* Cut the boneless chicken in cubes.
* Rub salt and lime and refrigerate for a few hours.

(Tip: while making the marinade, use as much little water as possible)

The Saffron Kebab:

* Melt 1tbsp ‘I can’t believe it’s not butter’ in a microwave for 5 seconds.
* Mix the butter, 3 tbsp plain yoghurt, 2 garlic cloves, 1 inch ginger cube, salt (add less than usual since you’ve already rubbed the chicken with salt), 2tbsp of Shaan tandoori masaala, more red chilli powder (to taste) in a mixer.
* Marinate 1/3rd of the chicken cubes in this mix and refrigerate for 30 mins.

The White Kebab:

* Mix 1tsbp of plain yoghurt, 2 garlic cloves, 1 inch ginger cube, 10-12 almonds, 10-12 cashews, 1 tbsp sour cream, 8-10 black pepper seeds (white peppercorn is preferred) in a mixer.
* Marinate 1/3rd of the chicken cubes in this mix and refrigerate for 30 mins.

The Green Kebab:

* Mix 1 bunch of fresh coriander, 4-5 leaves of fresh mint, 2-3 green chillies, 1 tbsp yoghurt, 1 tbsp sour cream, 1 inch cube of ginger and 2 garlic cloves in a mixer.
* Marinate 1/3rd of the chicken cubes in this mix and refrigerate for 30 mins.

The Chutney:

* Mix 1 bunch of fresh coriander, 4-5 leaves of fresh mint, 1-2 green chillies, 3 tbsp yoghurt, 1/2 inch cube of ginger, 1 garlic clove, ½ tbsp of tamarind pulp, ½ tbsp of sugar in a mixer.
* Marinate 1/3rd of the chicken cubes in this mix and refrigerate for 30 mins.

(The chutney is very similar to the green kebab marinade. You want to tone down the ginger-garlic since the chutney is not getting cooked. The tamarind and sugar gives a good sweet-sour flavor).

* Preheat oven to 350 F
* Arrange the kebabs on a skewer in a tricolor fashion
* Spray pam nonstick on the kebabs and the baking tray (baking tray is not necessary)
* Bake for 15-20 minutes and broil at 400F for last few minutes so it gets a glaze.
* Check repeatedly to ensure chicken is not getting overcooked.

Serve hot. Tastes great with mint-coriander chutney and grilled pearl onions.

India won the world cup and the celebration that followed on the streets was unbelievably euphoric! I screamed out aloud “Bharat Mata Ki Jay”!! It felt GREAT.

(If you are an Indian reading my blog, you should try it too…and the recipe as well :))


Tiranga* refers to the national flag of India. The term Tiranga means tri-colored – deep saffron, white and green.

Stuffed Pomfret

Have you ever gone out on a vacation only to crave ‘ghar ka khaana’? Is being homesick somewhat synonymous with missing ‘home cooked meals’ for you? Not that we are too picky about food, but it happens to us every so often. Just the other day, Anshuman & I got talking about ‘comfort foods’ – the kind of food which will give you that comfortable, warm-fuzzy, contented and homely feeling. And if you know me, no points for guessing what my comfort food is – it’s gotta be rice, solkadi & fried fish!

Growing up, seafood was an essential part of our meals. We could, probably, go on for weeks without meat…but fish, we had to have!

I remember my trips to the fish market with mom. As smelly as they were, I was always intrigued with how ‘her preferred’ fisherwoman always gave her the best deal, or so we thought (?). I loved watching my mom bargain and I secretly aspired to have my own “dedicated fisherwoman” one day. :-)

However, for all the seafood we had, it was surprising we never ate stuffed pomfret at home. I recently asked my mom why and she confessed that was because she doesn’t have much of a liking for this preparation.

Mumma, I hope you will read this blog, try the recipe and enjoy it. That will be the best culinary compliment I will receive!

Ingredients:
Fish :-)

Tip: I tend to buy the smaller pomfret, so you can serve the whole fish together with the stuffing to one person and don’t have to cut it up. This way, the presentation looks good too! You can substitute pomfret for butterfish.

For the stuffing:
Coriander
Ginger
Garlic
Green chillies
Coconut
Salt to taste

For the coating:
Turmeric
Red chilli powder
Salt
Tamarind paste
Ginger-garlic paste
Rava (Semolina/ sooji)
Rice flour

The recipe:

The stuffing:
Grind all the ingredients for the stuffing in a mixer.

Tip: Don’t add water at all to begin with. Let the water from the coriander or frozen coconut to mix everything. The stuffing should be as thick as possible so it doesn’t run out. Add 1 spoon of water at a time, so you don’t have excess of it.

The coating mix:
* Depending on what kind of tamarind you have, you’ll need around 1.5 tsp of tamarind pulp. I tend to add more of it, because I love the tangy flavor. If you have whole actual tamarind, microwave a few spoons of water for 30 seconds and let the tamarind sit in it for around 5 mins.
* Mix the turmeric, salt, red chilli powder, 1tsp of ginger-garlic paste and tamarind together. Add VERY LITTLE water again.


* Clean the fish properly. You may keep the head and tail for *ahem* aesthetic/ presentation value. I know a lot of you would probably snip it off for the very same reason. :-)
* Make a horizontal slit along the length of the fish, but be careful to not cut open too wide or else the stuffing won’t stay.
* Add as much stuffing as you can add in the slit.
* Coat the fish with the coating mix and let it sit in the fridge for about 20 mins to an hour.
* You can use a thread to tie up the fish.
* Mix equal portions of rava and the rice flour. I tend to use both because rava gives a crunch while the rice flour tends to coat more evenly. Put a pinch of salt in this mix.
* Remove the marinated fish, remove the thread and coat with this mix.
* Shallow fry on low heat.

For those of you watching your weight, you can bake this as well. If you plan to bake instead of frying –

* Minimize the rava in your coating.
* Spray the fish and baking tray evenly with some oil spray.
* Bake at 325F for 10-15 minutes.
* Keep checking as fish doesn’t take very long to cook.
* When you think the fish is cooked, broil on high heat around 425F for around 5 mins before turning the oven off.

Serve hot. Garnish with a wedge of lime. Stuffed Pomfret is best enjoyed with rice and solkadi*. Get yourself a refreshing cold lager to wash down the spicy fish!

Meher turned 8 months old this week and what better way to celebrate than with a good homely dinner of fried fish and rice! Ah, the Goan in me has spoken. :)

Happy 8th month birthday, Miu baby!

Solkadi* - A coconut milk preparation usually had with rice in western coastal India.

Kadhai Chicken

This Valentine’s Day was extra special; it was the first with our most treasured possession and our deepest love, our baby! I wanted to make it memorable.

I sent an evite to the hubby for a formal dinner at home :) (when you have a 7 month old at home, you run out of ideas very quickly). It seemed all personalized and beautiful to my family, but to me, cooking a special meal for the hubby came very naturally and I knew I wasn’t being all that creative after all. I love watching food channels and the idea of presenting a restaurant style multiple course meal has always appealed to me.

So, I planned just that – 4 appetizers and a lip-smacking entree.

The idea was perfect, and the execution couldn’t be any less. After scratching my head with several cuisine and menu options, I thought to myself – now, what does the hubby love that I can’t go wrong with…and I had my menu chalked out instantly – desi!

I decided to make ‘Kadhai chicken’, a recipe I’ve recently learned and is so finger-licking good! (Ah, all my modesty is out of the window now, for the kadhai chicken is just THAT yum)

Ingredients:
2lbs chicken. (I prefer the Indian style cut up chicken and I usually try and get smaller pieces so the spices really get all the way in).
4inch square of ginger (yeah, needs lot of ginger and garlic)
4 cloves garlic
3 Jalapeno peppers (can add more or less based on spice preference)
3 tomatoes
2 medium sized onions
Coriander

Dry ingredients:
Garam masala
Dhania powder (coriander powder)
Turmeric
Red chilli powder
Salt to taste

The recipe:

Sorry, but you need a lot of oil for this preparation and it isn’t for healthy eating.

* Take oil in a kadhai
* Add 3 inch ginger slivers (leave 1 inch for garnishing)
* Add finely chopped garlic
* Cut the jalapeno pepper in circles and add to the kadhai
* Add turmeric and salt to taste. I tend to add more turmeric than usual, because I love the aroma of turmeric in oily preparations.
* Add dhania powder and very little garam masaala. You can do without the garam masaala too.
* Add chicken and let the chicken cook in the oil for around 10 minutes on a high flame. You will need to stir frequently.

Tip – Do not cover the kadhai, you don’t want a steamed preparation. The chicken should primarily be cooked in oil.

* After the chicken gets a nice coating of the oil, ginger-garlic and turmeric, add chopped tomatoes. You can reduce the flame at this point and let the tomatoes cook in for another 15 minutes.
* Once the tomatoes become somewhat homogenous with the rest of the gravy, add finely chopped onions and let it cook for 20 mins.
* Garnish with chopped coriander, jalapenos and the slivers of the remaining ginger.

Kadhai chicken is ready!

Serve piping hot. Pair the Kadhai chicken with hot tandoori naan and a glass of Robert Mondavi, and you’ve got a winner!

Anshuman gave it a thumbs up. And so, my first blog with Kadhai chicken was the best way to start this new endeavor.