Seven-cups… Oooops!!! Six!! ;)

Yet another sweet that mom made during our hols. Come to think of it, she juggled all the work at home, the bank & still stuffed us with home-made goodies!! I remember mom telling me that it was called 7-cups 'coz 7 cups of ingredients go into making this. Try as I might, I couldn't recollect the 7th cup. Mom couldn't too! ;) So just went ahead with 6cups-of-guessed-ingredients for a quick Diwali treat. They ended up tasting just like the 7-cups. I'm still at times tormented with thoughts of "what-was-the-7th-cup"… Pushing them away for now! Herez how I made my 6-cups…:)
You need:
1 cup ghee
2 cups sugar (I used a little more than 1.5 cups.Taste & alter as you go along)
1 cup freshly grated coconut
1 cup milk
1 cup besan
a pinch of powdered cardamom (optional)
How to:
Melt the ghee on a low flame in a wide mouthed kadai/wok. Add the sugar and stir (I use powdered sugar – so I don’t really have to slave over the flame ;)). Now add the coconut and the milk. You could add in a pinch of powdered cardamom (optional). Add the besan, pouring steadily and stirring all the while. Make sure no lumps are formed. You need to keep stirring constantly to avoid burning. After about 10-15 minutes of arm-workout, the mixture starts leaving the edges and forming a lump as you turn it over. Spread this out on a plate smeared lightly with ghee. Allow it to cool for a few minutes and cut into desired pieces/shapes while it is still warm. You can pop them out of the plate after they cool completely.
Pointers:
If you find it difficult to handle spreading the mixture onto a plate, you could pat it down with our hand, alternately dipping your hand in cold water. Work quickly so that you don’t burn your fingers. :)

Jilebi - instant mix...

Tried making Jilebis... Haven't ventured into making them from the scratch. This was using the instant-mix, the easy way out! ;) Planning to make the batter on my own the next time... :)

Choco Mocha Cake...

Was making a chocolate cake for 'T's B'day & wondered if a dash of coffee would give it that extra kick. Well, it always does, right? At least for a hardcore coffee fan, YES!! !:D Rich, moist n ooooh so tempting! Drizzled some choco sauce & sprinkled crispies n choco chips. Threw in some gems & a couple of cappuccino twisters... :)

You need:
1 cup each of...
-plain flour/maida
-hung curd (hung for 5 min should do)
-sugar powdered
3/4 cup vegetable oil/cooking oil
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp instant coffee powder (more if you like)
4 heaped tbsp of powdered Bournvita
2-3 drops of orange essence
a bunch of cherries,raisins,coarsely broken down nuts - cashews & almonds soaked in rum overnight or atleast an hour
How to:
Get all the ingredients ready. Grease the cake tin with butter & dust with flour. Preheat the oven at 180 deg C for 10min.
Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder & baking soda together and transfer them to a deep bowl. To this, add the sugar, coffee powder & the Bournvita. Lightly mix them together. Add the curd and mix well. Now add the oil and beat well enough for it to incorporate. You should end up with a thick batter which falls down ribbon-like when spooned. If your mixture has no 'flow', you could add a little milk to it. Add the drunken nuts/cherries in the batter and mix lightly. You could add the rum with some cooking chocolate & use it for icing the cake when done or use them to make some choco-rum-bombs or just drink up! ;)
Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake at 180 deg C for 30-40 min or till done. A skewer/knife inserted in the center of the cake should come out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack & garnish with ... well, pretty much anything chocolate-y that you can find in your kitchen! ;) :D Indulge!! :)

Mashed Potatoes...

Herez how:
Microwave 3 medium-sized potatoes in salted water till done (about 15-20min).Drain out the water & run through cold water (makes for easier handling). Passing the boiled potatoes through a metallic sieve (plastic ones are clumsier!) gives you creamy potatoes with amazing texture. Add in 2tbsp of butter and stir in, gradually adding 1/4 cup cold milk(or more) - stirring all the while. Throw in some herbs for flavor. I used oregano & some chilly flakes.
Bowl- scraping goooood!! :)

Sausage Wraps - SuNdAy BrUnCh :)

A dash of fried onion flakes, minced Jalapeños, a grilled sausage, a dollop of mustard sauce - laid on a flattened & trimmed slice of bread, spread with some ketchup. Roll up as in the pik & secure with a toothpick, an olive pierced through. Grill till done and serve hot. Njoy!! :)

Little Coffee Hearts... :)

For V's B'day - yet another InDulGence that 'T' & me devoured!! :)
A tin of milkmaid + same measure of milk + 3-4tsps of instant coffee + 3 well beaten eggs - steamed for about 20min. MaGiC!!! :D
Used cookie cutters & dusted them with cocoa... Yummm!!! :)

Carrot Cake... :)

Celebrating V's B'day!...Made this since its his favorite cake! :)
You need:
1 cup grated carrot - tightly packed(use red carrots if in season)
1 egg
1 cup self raising flour**
1 cup sugar - powdered
1 tsp condensed milk (optional)
1/2 tsp finely powdered cinnamon
3/4 cup oil
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 drops of vanilla essence (optional - not really required since cinnamon is added)
**If u are using all purpose flour, use 1 tsp baking powder & 1/2 tsp baking soda. The rest of the ingredients remain the same.
How to:
Sieve together the flour, baking soda & baking powder and keep aside. Meanwhile pre-heat the oven for 10min at 150 deg C.
Beat the egg in a plastic/glass bowl till frothy. Add the cinnamon powder, sugar, condensed milk & beat well till light & frothy. Add the sieved dry ingredients, stirring slowly. You could alternate with the oil & dry ingredients for easy mixing. Once this is mixed well, add in the grated carrot & mix.
Pour this into a well buttered & dusted(with flour) tin and bake at 160 deg C for 30-45min or till an inserted skewer comes out clean. Tastes yummm... n tastes better the next day! :)

Cooking with Amaranthus...

 

Of the unprecedented list as to why Coorg is a dream come true, one of them would be - being able to whip up lunch by just wandering in your backyard. Back at mum's place I could just gather a bunch of fresh amaranthus from her veggie garden trove. Wish I could always do that instead of having to salvage my greens from the fridge!
Herez a yummy and nutritious side dish made with amaranthus (called keere in Coorg - pronounced key-ray)..I'd be surprised if I found a house in Coorg that doesn't make it! :D
You need:
3tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 medium onions - sliced Julienne style
green chillies - 3
3 bunches of leafy amaranthus-green/red/ u could mix them too
1 cup freshly grated coconut
salt to taste
P.Note: the amaranthus reduces to about less than half the quantity when cooked. Pick out only the tender stems. You could use/discard the harder stems & root or add them in soups. Discard flowers & seeds if any. Wash well since they tend to be soiled. A good rinse in salted water to begin with & 2 more plain water rinses following it should do.
How to:
Heat the oil in a wide-mouthed wok. Drop in the mustard seeds. Add the split green chilies once the mustard splutters. Once the chilies change color, add the onions and stir, adding salt as per taste. Now add the greens and stir in. Add the grated coconut. Stir.
These greens have good water content and do not need additional water to cook in. You could add 1/2 a cup if required, though. Check for salt. Stir...cover..n hover around and your dish should done in 10min!:) Tastes yum with rice roti / chapatis.

Vanilla drops...

'V' called them little idlis! :P They tasted like the store bought drops which really surprised me! ;)Forgot to wrap them up in an air-tight container & 'T' missed out the crunch!
Reminder to self - "Don't zoom in piks too much!" :)

Corn dip...

'T' was at work & the baby corns in my fridge were yelling to be picked up. They ended up being a part of my snack-lunch :)
You need:
1 cup corn cut breadthwise to get little circles
1/2 cup tomato puree(I pureed 2 tomatoes in my mixer. You could use the ready puree)
1 tsp kasoori methi
a pinch of pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp powdered cashewnut
1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp cream
2-3 tbsp grated cheese
How to:
Boil the tomato puree with 1/2 cup water, kasoori methi and pepper till it thickens. Set aside.
In the same kadai, sauté onions in olive oil along with the cashewnut, ginger-garlic paste, chilly powder & salt to taste. Once the onion changes color, add the tomato puree and simmer.Check/add more chilly powder if required.
Drop in the cream & fold. Garnish with grated cheese & serve as a dip with crackers or toast. Slurp! :)

Half moon coconut toffees...

Yet another quick-fix for the sweet-toothed. Made them in half-moon shapes using a scoop spoon since I was too lazy to roll them into balls.

Potato Gratin...

Thanks to Masterchef Australia, the now-all-knowing 'T' quizzed his bro - a chef - regarding the gratin. Like he wouldn't know! Hellllppppp! 'T' is going bonkers! ;)
Herez how I made them:
Slice potatoes and soak in salted water for about half an hour. Pat dry.For the garnish: chopped parsley,cream,garlic,pepper,chilly flakes,oregano & butter.
Butter a casserole. Layer potatoes & garnish alternatively.
Oven: Preheat oven to 375 Fahr. For 0.5kg, bake for 30-45min or till done.
Microwave: Cook on Combi-Gratin for 10min for 3 potatoes. 15min for 0.5kg. Enjoy!! :)

Choco tarts...

Made creamy choco tarts topped with choco chips & some crunch – an apt inaugural for my mini tart trays! :)

Dulce De Leche @ home! :)

Been planning this for quite sometime but the cooking time of 2-3 hours was what put me off. Shortcut? - Cooked the tin in a pressure cooker with the whistle on for about 35min, tin(condensed milk) immersed in water. Voila - a yummy Dulce De Leche that 'T' & me were ecstatic about! We had it on its own, with some cooled custard that we had(the worse half suggested this ;)) & then topped some ice-cream. Incredible in all forms! Planning to use it in a rum infused rice pudding later on!
Adapted from Vera's recipe @ bakingobsession.