Strawberry -Vanilla Trifle

The month of May heralds the onset of long & sultry days in the Arabian desert. With temperatures soaring above 45 degrees celsius,the sizzling heat in these peak summer days has made us languished. The twilight of these long summer days seems to be beyond range. We have desperately started looking out for super cool desserts, frozen treats & chilled juices to quench our thirsts & appetite.

Today I have a lovely dessert which is so melt-in your-mouth kind of & is damn easy to prepare. A brief background on it before I proceed to the actual recipe.

Trifles are desserts that consist of plain or sponge cake as their bases and they are soaked in a bed of thick & creamy custard,with a few varieties of fruits thrown in it, nestled on a layer of jam/jelly & chased with a few nuts as the topping.

With the plethora of methods available to make these trifles, I am confiding to you that I am game enough for all kinds of trifles.An added bonus is that almost half the ingredients can be bought readily from a nearby bakery or supermarket.So at your next turn to play the host, why should you not give this a shot?

The trifle that I am going to talk about is simply awesome. Its an incredibly stunning dessert especially while entertaining friends.

My only tip would be to make the custard thick and creamy as it contributes heavily for its palatableness . You can also add some nuts for a nutty flavour and to enjoy their crunchiness.

INGREDIENTS:

4-5 slices of plain vanilla cake/any flavoured cake
1 cup thick vanilla custard
Fruits - Oranges/apples/ bananas/blueberries/dark purple grapes
6-8 Strawberries/raspberries
1 cup strawberry icecream
1/4 cup grated chocolate/chocolate shavings/chocolate curls/chocolate chips  (optional)
Some whipped cream
Some nuts of your choice- almonds/pecans/cashwes/raisins/walnuts- chopped as desired
1 cup raspberry/strawberry jelly (optional)

HOW TO MAKE:

1)  Make custard as usual. Cool it and keep aside.
  
{To make custard, boil  2 cups milk. In a small bowl, take 4 tbsp milk and mix 5 tbsp custard powder well in it. Add this to the boiling milk. Add 1/2 cup sugar to this and stir well till the custard starts thickening. Once sugar is dissolved, switch off stove and allow to cool}

2)  In a flat bowl, place the cakes slices at the bottom in the form of a bed.

3)  Pour a thick layer of some custard over it.

4)  Arrange some chopped fruits over this custard layer. Also arrange some strawberries/raspberries

5)  If using jelly or jam, pour some on the fruits layer. Or else just spread a layer of strawberry icecream over the fruits layer.

6) Arrange more fruits again on the icecream/jam/jelly layer and spread some more custard over this.

7)  Spread sopme whipped cream and decorate with chocolate chips/shavings and nuts of your choice along with some raspberries and strawberries.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   Easy

              RATING  POINTS         :    9/10**

** You can use any ingredient you like. This dessert can be prepared with several variations.

Shahi Dum Chicken (Royal Chicken)

I decided to kick start this new week with an exotic chicken gravy called the Dum Chicken which is cooked in a unique style with the end result being a delicious and an aromatic gravy.

The Dum chicken is cooked through a slow process of almost 45-50 minutes with tightly sealed edges of your vessel and without any stirring. You will be able to taste the extra & the big flavour of the slow cooking process with this dish. The key to this extra flavour is the chicken marination. The more the marination time, the more flavourful your dish turns out to be. So I suggest that you marinate the chicken a day in advance and shut it in the freezer of your refrigerator and remove it out atleast 2 hours before you want to start cooking. You will notice that once this tangy and spicy marinated chicken hits the stove, its less than an hour for you to sail to yummy town.

Overall, its a truly delish recipe with abundantly amazing and healthy flavours. I'd surely give it a 10 stars.

To get a grip of what's in the offing for big days such as parties or other occasions, I suggest that you practice this recipe a couple of time before you attempt to flame up your guests gastronomic desires.

It also uses a spice bag that contains of a few types of garam masala spices which help to impart their royal flavours into the gravy throughout the cooking process.The cooking dish is sealed and placed on the stove till the ingredients inside convert themselves on their own from an untreated to a truly delicious stage.The aromas that fill your house when the lid is opened is simply heavenly. With a royal dish such as this, you can easily handle every party with equal grace & style.

Now coming to the recipe - I had a couple of versions of this recipe in my cook book. I had tried it earlier in the form of Dum Biryani. However I managed to find a fantastic recipe (almost the same) on a website with a lot of pictorial descriptions. I found this link very useful and tried to imitate the same recipe for myself  with minor changes. For ease, I have divided this recipe into 3 yummy layers which when brought together form the Dum Chicken.

INGREDIENTS :

For the chicken marination:

1/2 Kg Chicken
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
6 Green chillies slit
Sour curds - 200 gms beaten
2-3 cloves
1 cinnamon
1 bayleaf
3 cardamoms
1/2 bunch mint leaves
1/2 bunch coriander leaves finely chopped
1 full tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsp cashew paste
a pinch garam masala powder
1/2 lemon squeezed for its juice/2 tsp vinegar

Marinate the chicken with all the above ingredients. Place this marinade in a refrigerator (freezer section) for atleast 2 hours, preferebly overnight. If freezing overnight, remove the chicken from the freezer atleast an hour before cooking.

For the Saffron - Milk Mixture:

1 pinch saffron
2 tbsp milk

Mix the saffron with the milk, heat it a bit and keep aside.

For the spice bag:

1 tbsp Shahi zeera
4-5 cloves
2-3 cinnamons
5-6 cardomoms
2 bayleaves crushed
Roots & stems of the mint and coriander leaves washed well.

Put all these ingredients into a small muslin cloth/cheese cloth, tie it up so as to resemble a sack and keep aside.

For the Golden onion layer

2 big onions finely sliced
2 tbsp clarified butter/Ghee

Heat the clarified butter in a pan, fry the onions in it until golden brown. Keep aside.

To Bring together the Layers:

1) In a big vessel, Pour 2-3 tbsp clarified butter/Oil. Over this, pour the marinated chicken along with its marinade. Put some water over it (atleast 3/4 cup).

2) Place the spice bag on this water. The spice is supposed to dip in this marinade.

3) Pour the golden onions over this layer.

4) Top it with the saffron-milk mixture.

5) Cover the vessel/vat with lid and seal the edges of the vessel with some wheat flour mixed with water.

6) Place this on a stove on high flame for the first 5-10 minutes. Then reduce the flame to medium and allow it to cook for another 10 minutes. Again reduce the flame and continue to cook on low flame for the 20 minutes.

7) If at any point of time you feel that the water inside may be drying up (sometimes you can get to hear by the sound coming from inside), you can place a flat metallic plate on the stove, then place your vessel on it and continue to cook on low flame.

8) By 40-45 minutes, you can assume that the chicken is done and oil has started coming up. Switch off the stove at this stage.

9) This chicken is best served with the seals of the vessel being removed directly at the table. Remove the spice bag, garnish with a few chopped coriander leaves, a spike of lemon juice & serve it with a bed of rice or parathas.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   MEDIUM
              RATING  POINTS         :    6/10**

** I used clarified butter mainly because of the lovely aroma it creates. You can also use cooking oil /olive oil instead.

** Sufficient water needs to be added to the marinated chicken before the cooking. As the cashew paste has the tendency of absorbing the water and browning the base of the vessel, thus spoiling the flavour of the dish.

** I realised that cooking in a non-stick vessel is better than cooking in an ordinary vessel.

** This dish is best cooked out of experience and practice. So dont lose heart if you go wrong in any stage.

Samosa

I am here today for a quick write up on a stress free & heavenly starter called the Samosas.

Samosas have always been at the top of my list for the most popular picking. One bite into them & my appetite is stimulated. These yummy little bites also serve as an excellent snack but have been a requisite on our table often in the past. You can also serve them as an effortless nibble for picnics or to snack on during long journeys.

So dont hesitate to treat your family with these zingy & esculent savouries. Lets march on to the recipe immediately.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups All Purpose flour
1 tbsp Clarified butter/ Oil
1/2 tsp Salt
Water to knead the dough

For the filling:

3 Onions finely chopped
1 tbsp minced meat/minced chicken
A pinch garam masala powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
3-4 green chillies slit
A handful of Coriander leaves
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
1 tsp ginger+garlic paste
2 tsp Oil

HOW TO MAKE:

For the filling:

1)  In a pan, heat 2 tsp Oil, add the minced meat and the onions and fry them in this oil till the onions are translucent & soft.

2) Add the ginger + garlic paste, the spice powders and the green chillies and allow to fry for a minute.

3) Add the coriander leaves and switch off the stove and allow this filling mixture to cool.

For the Samosas:

1) Knead the dough with some water as required. Do not make the dough very soft by over kneading. Use water as required only.

2) Allow it to rest for 20-30 minutes.

3) Make 8-10 small balls in this dough. Roll out small parathas/rotis  in this.

4) Take one paratha at a time, place on a flat board/surface. Pass a wet hand on the rounded outline of this paratha and also in the form of a vertical line in the centre of the paratha as if you are making a semi circle in it.

5)  Place little filling on either side of the wetted line. Take the top part of the paratha and close it over the filling. It should resemble a semi circle now and the filling is placed inside.

6) Take a cutter and cut this semi circle in the centre. Now you will have 2 samosas. Use the cutter to make a design on the edges also.

7) Repeat the same process for each of the paratha prepared.

8) Heat oil in a wok, deep fry the samosas till light golden brown.

9)  Serve hot with Ketchup.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   EASY

              RATING  POINTS         :    8/10**

** You can also buy the samosa wrappers available in stores and shape the samosas.

** Make any filling you desire. All work well with samosas.

Spicy tomato gravy

Are you someone who is always looking for a mix of some tart, some spicy,some testy & tangy flavours in your meals? If yes, then you are in the perfect place. Because, I am here to share a zippy side dish with classic flavours that can be cooked in no time.

INGREDIENTS:

6 large ripened tomatoes finely chopped
1-2 onion finely chopped
1 capsicum (optional)
1 green chilli slit
4 tbsp oil/ghee
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1 tbsp chopped curry leaves
1 cm piece ginger grated
2 tsp rasam powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp asafoetida
1-2 dry red chillies

HOW TO MAKE:

1) Heat oil/ghee in a pan, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds & the asafoetida.

2) Then add the curry leaves, grated ginger & the slit green chilli. Throw in the onion, capsicum and saute it till soft.

3) Add the rasam powder , salt & sugar and fry in the oil for a miniute before adding the tomatoes which have to be cooked till they are soft & pulpy.

4) When oil comes up & the tomatoes looked cooked and soft, this dish is done. Serve hot with rice.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   EASY

              RATING  POINTS         :    9/10**

** Use ripened & red tomatoes for this gravy for more tastier results.

**  Instead of chopping the tomatoes, you can also gring them coarsely.

Vanilla cupcakes

My baking gloves sadly hung on the kitchen peg. It was quite a while since they'd moved from there. My previous baking disasters had brought them to this state.I watched them helplessly and wondered if I should give a try again to see if I can actually turn the tables. I absent mindedly walked to my book shelf and looked for a basic vanilla cake recipe that I'd tried earlier.

What can go wrong in trying out a basic cake recipe? When everyone can bake fabulous cakes,why cant I bake a basic one? Why cant I just try and try till I finally succeed to bake a good cake? I know its not difficult and I know I am making a mountain out of a molehill. I also know that I dont lose much even if I am not able to bake a great cake. These thoughts thronged my head for a while.

So I chose my recipe and followed it perfectly step by step. Used my whisk to beat all the ingredients well and in a little while I had some appetising aroma filling my house. I was delighted to notice that the cupcakes rose very well after 10 minutes and at the end of the baking time I could hardly see any cracked tops. Don't you think that they are actually made well?

This is the recipe I followed:

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

HOW TO MAKE:

1)  Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2)  Line a muffin pan with paper liners. If you do not have paper liners, just butter the muffin pan bowls so that the cakes can be easily removed after they are done.

3)  Sift all the dry ingredients together and keep aside.

4)  Beat eggs until fluffy.Add the milk and vanilla together and continue beating till the eggs double in volume and are very fluffly. Keep aside.

5)  In a mixer or with a whisk or with your hand, cream butter and sugar till sugar is dissolved and the mixture is creamy.

6)  Mix in the egg-milk mixture little by little to the butter mixture alternately with the dry ingredients. Mix this for another 5 minutes. If you are using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, you should do this step on low speed.

7) The cake batter is now ready. Pour it into the muffin pan/paper liners. Bake them for 15-20 minutes or just until a toothpick when inserted comes out dry. Do not overbake and make them dry.

8)  Once removed from the oven, cool them on a wire rack. If you wish to frost them, you can enjoy pretty looking cupcakes of lovely flavours. These measurements make 12 cupcakes.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   EASY

              RATING  POINTS         :    8/10**

**  Dont overmix the batter. A good cake is onw which is airy, light, slightly crumbly but moist.

Russian Salad

Yum-O. Its time to adventure up your palate. I am here with a magical recipe for a luxurious salad which had its origin from Russia. Also called as the Olivier Salad, it consists of diced veggies and fruits mixed with cream & mayonnaise with a dash of salt & pepper.

The mayonnaise is the magical ingredient here which lights up the flavours & gives them a contrasting effect. This salad is guaranteed to make a splash in parties too. You should surely give this a try.

The recipe for a bowl of this fanciful salad is as follows:

INGREDIENTS:

4-5 chopped French Beans
1/4 cup peas
1/2 cup diced pineapple
1/2 cup diced apple
1/4 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cream
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

HOW TO MAKE:

1)  Boil some water in a small bowl. Throw in the chopped french beans and the peas. Remove them from the boiling water once they are slightly softened. This step takes about 3-4 minutes. Drain them & keep aside.

2)  Mix all the fruits & vegetables in a fresh bowl and add the Mayonnaise, cream, salt & pepper. Mix well till the mayonnaise looks smooth.

3)  Chill and serve.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   EASY

              RATING  POINTS         :    9/10**

** Some people also add boiled chicken, boiled egg, spring onions, green pepper etc to this salad. The choice is yours if you'd like to add some of these ingredients too.

** If you dont have cream available, add some yogurt instead.

Peshawari Kebabs

INGREDIENTS:

For Marination:

1/2 Kg Boneless Chicken
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Chilli powder
2 tsp ginger +garlic paste
1 tsp coriander powder

For the Gravy:

 3 chopped onions

 1/2 cup minced garlic

 3 tomatoes minced

 1 tsp coriander powder

 1 tsp chilli powder

 1 cup curds
 Salt

 3 freshly crushed red chillies

HOW TO MAKE:

1)  Marinate boneless chicken with salt, chilli powder, ginger+garlic paste and coriander powder.

2) Put them into tooth picks. Keep in oven and grill for 10 minutes or shallow fry in hot oil till light golden color. Keep aside

For the Gravy:

   

1) Heat oil, add onions, fry and add garlic, add tomatoes, fry till cooked.

2) Add powders, red chillies, curds & fried  meat. Cook till chicken is done.

3) Garnish with some spring onions, ginger julienes and coriander leaves & some raw veggies. 

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   EASY

              RATING  POINTS         :    9/10**

Batata Puris (Potato flattened breads)

Scorching sun,dusty plains, blooming date palms and dwindling springs - Yes its officially the summer's impending presence.With temperatures touching 45 degrees along with high humidity levels there is no doubt that we are now almost a few weeks into the summer. Even though the effects of a grey sky lingered briefly in the last week but disappeared quickly in the last couple of days.

I spent a very non-chalant weekend this time. Thanks to the sultry weather. I never felt like planning any outings. To add some zest to my weekend, I decided to polish my culinary skills and bring in more sparks to my growing fad. I explored my cook books and bookmarked a few recipes for which I did not have to make a trip to the grocery stores, then gathered the ingredients and set to undertake my chores.

So here I am with a wonderful treat for all potato lovers who are not counting calories.This is a no-fuss light meal/breakfast recipe for some crispy,puffed flatbreads - we call them puris. Mashed potatoes combined with flour for a heavy dough which is flattened and deep fried to perfection.The crunchiness of these puris and their flavour adds color to your table. It pairs greatly with some spicy tomato pickle.


INGREDIENTS:

4 cups maida
2 small boiled potatoes
1 tsp chopped coriander leaves
crushed green chillies
1/2 tbsp cumin powder
3/4 cup milk
2 tbsp ghee
salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

HOW TO MAKE:

1) Boil, peel and mash potatoes to a smooth paste.

2) Add the rest of the ingredients to this and mix well to form a well kneaded dough.

3)  Set aside for 45 minutes.

4)  Roll into small flattened bread /puris and deep fry in hot oil till light golden.

5)  Serve hot with a curry or a tomato pickle.

RATING NOTES: 

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   EASY

              RATING  POINTS         :    9/10**

**  Mash the potatoes until very smooth and without any lumps. Or else the puris will not form well.

Tomato Pancakes

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups Rice
6 tomatoes - medium sized
3 dry red chillies
1 cup fresh grated coconut
1 tsp salt

HOW TO MAKE:

1) Soak the rice for 2 hours. Wash well, drain all water and grind with the coconut, chilies, salt and chopped tomatoes into a fine paste adding 1 1/2 cup of water. Remove into a container and stir well.

2) Heat a greased pancake griddle/ a non stick griddle till hot and spread a scoop of batter on it evenly. Allow it to set for a minute. Keep the stove on high/medium high flame during this process. The pancake will form.

3) Turn the pancake to the other side and allow to cook for a few seconds before serving. Serve with chutney.

RATING NOTES:



              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   EASY

              RATING  POINTS         :    9/10**

**  This is an instant pancake. The batter should not be fermented. If not using immediately, the batter should be kept in the fridge.

** You can also add some coriander leaves, grated carrot, finely chopped onions etc to this batter to try variations.


 

Kadai Paneer (Cottage cheese in a Wok)

INGREDIENTS:

200 gms Paneer/Cottage Cheese cubes
2 Onions sliced
1 caqpsicum chopped into big cubes
1-2 tbsp Oil/Butter/Clarified butter
2 Tomatoes finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger+garlic paste
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1/4 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp garam masala powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
1/4 tsp Chaat masala
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Chopped coriander leaves

HOW TO MAKE:

1) Bring 1 cup of water to boil in a vessel. Switch off stove and put the Cottage cheese/paneer cubes into it. Cover the vessel for 5-10 minutes. Remove the paneer from the hot water and keep aside. This is done to soften the paneer slightly.

Frozen Paneer cubes/cottage cheese

2)  Heat oil/butter in a wok. Add the onions and capsicum & fry till onions are pink and soft.

3) Add the ginger-garlic paste and the spice powders and saute for 2-3 minutes. Then add the tomatoes and some water and cook till the tomatoes are very soft.

4) At this stage, add the tomato Ketchup. Add salt & check for taste.Cook till oil is almost coming up.

5) Then add the panner cubes at this stage and allow to cook till oil has come up. Garnish with the coriander leaves and serve hot.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   EASY
              RATING  POINTS         :    9/10**

**  You can replace step 1 by deep frying the paneer in hot oil till slightly golden. I avoided this as paneer absorbs oil.

** I used ripe red tomatoes. I suggest you too choose fully ripened tomatoes as it gives a good taste for this dish.

Icecream Smoothie

The chicken week series has ended. A total of 7 delicious and easy-to-make chicken recipes had been posted on this series.
 

Now, to Kick Start the summer, I tried a yummy & a refreshing smoothie last week called the Icecream smoothie. Its a perfect treat for the scorching summer heat. What I liked the most about this is that the same recipe can be used with different flavours of icecream to produce varying tastes. I have just posted the basic recipe here. But dont be hesitant to try variations for this as you can never go wrong in any step. Its so damn easy-cheesy !!! Its ready in less than 5 minutes :)

INGREDIENTS:
 

¼ cup chilled skimmed milk

1 cup vanilla ice cream/any flavoured ice cream

1 teaspoon chocolate syrup

Some crushed nuts of your choice - cashews, pistas, almonds etc. (Crush them in a food processor/chopper)

3 biscuits/oreo cookies, broken into small pieces

HOW TO MAKE:

1)  Pop in the milk & the ice cream into a blender.

2) Beat them until soft and just combined and the mixture in the blender looks frothy.

3) Add a few crushed biscuits & pulse again for 5-6 seconds to fold them in the icecream mixture. Do not over blend as the frothiness will disappear.

4) Scoop into two glasses and sprinkle with remaining biscuit crumbs. Sprinkle the chocolate syrup over it. Serve chilled.

 

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   EASY
              RATING  POINTS         :    10/10**

I tried 2 versions of this smoothie. I also sprinkled some grated chocolate/chocolate powder for a more chocolaty flavour.