Grape mousse... :)

Been wanting to try this mousse for about an year now & so rushed into making them when the first batch of black grapes hit the market. Been sitting in my drafts since.. posting this before the grapes go back to being scarce! :)
This recipe has two parts - the base & a glaze. Best served in a glass dish to show off the vibrant colors! :) * * * For the base * * *
You need:
250 gm black grapes - seedless
200 gm cream - i used Amul
1/2 tin sweetened condensed milk (taste & add more if desired)
4 tsp gelatin
1.5 cup water + more to dissolve the gelatin

Boil the grapes in 1.5 cups water & let it cool. Blend this into a smooth paste and run it through a sieve. Reserve 1/2 cup grape extract for the glaze.
To the rest of the grape juice extracted, add in the lightly beaten cream, condensed milk and mix well. To this, add the gelatin dissolved completely in 1/2 a cup of warm water. I used an electric beater to combine all this. Now pour this into a serving dish - i used shot glasses. Leave enough place to top the mousse with the glaze.
Let this rest in the refrigerator for about an hour or two. Prepare the glaze once the mousse has set.

* * * For the glaze * * *
You need:
1 tsp gelatin
1/2 cup grape juice (reserved initially)
sugar - according to taste

To the warmed up grape juice, add in the gelatin and mix well till it dissolves completely. Add in the sugar according to taste, let the mixture cool & then, top the mousse. The mousse would have been set by now & so you will end up with two distinct layers. Return it to the fridge till the glaze sets - about an hour should do.
ScOoP n EnJoY!!!! :)

Adapted from a recipe here & the lazy-me made quite a few changes, using it as a guideline. :)

Snack Time ~ Rice crispies...

Since we planned to put a hold on munching bags of store-bought goodies, made these as a substitute! ;) You need:
2 cups rice flour
1 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
3-4 tbsp butter/ghee(clarified butter)
salt to taste
chilly powder to taste (skip this & you'll get white crispies)
water to mix in all the above
oil for frying
How to:
Mix all the dry ingredients. Add in the butter & mix. Now add enough water for the ingredients to come together and form a soft dough.
Heat oil in a deep vessel. Pass the dough through a string-hopper maker and drop them directly into the oil. Fry them till golden, turning over to make sure they are cooked evenly. Drain on a paper towel. Crunch-munch & save the rest in air-tight containers. :) Owing to the additional butter added here, sans chana dal, this snack is a little brittle when compared to a similar one made with chana dal and rice flour. You need to be gentler when you fry these.
Recipe source: Sonali.. :)

Coconut Brittle... Chikki - with dessicated coconut...

I gobbled up doughnuts that a friend had bought for us from a local store.. though not from MOD, i still ended up devouring the whole lot without saving them for T (which NeVeR happens!)..
Once i was done, i HAD to make something that T liked to brush away the guilt - what else but chikki? Made them with something that T had actually asked for - dessicated coconut. I now have a stack that i can munch on & go hmmmmmnnn.... trying hard not to finish them too! ;) :D
You need:
dessicated coconut 1 cup, tightly packed - i used store-bought ones
sugar 3/4 cup - you don't really need brown sugar - normal works just fine
clarified butter(ghee) 1 tsp + extra for greasing the plates

How to:
In a wok, heat the sugar with about 2tbsp water till all the crystals dissolve. In a few seconds, it will take on a brownish hue & start to caramelize. Stir, making sure that it does not burn. Add in the coconut & stir well. To this, stir in 1tsp of ghee.
Mix well & transfer onto a well greased plate, marking lines halfway through - as in chocolate bars. Now let them cool - the brittle hardens during cooling. Pop them out of the plate once cooled & break along the indent. Store in air tight containers.
Pointers:
>> I toasted the coconut till it browned a bit and gave off a nutty aroma.
>> Found it easier to work with granulated sugar rather than powdered sugar while making these.
>> Ensure that you don't skip greasing the plates.
>> Caramelize a wee bit more for a different taste & darker shade.
EnJoY!! :)

Thai rice noodles in a soupy mushroom sauce... :)

Another experiment that we LoVeD!! :)

Chicken MisCuzi!! ;)

Yeah - a totally made up name & dish! Herez how the dish was named...
R came over for dinner - a really sweet person who sings, plays the guitar, paints & is sooo much fun to have around! T & R have this sudden bursts of 'Yo' n 'MisCuzi' when they greet each other. Was serving up some starters when R asked me what i'd just served - i didn't really know 'coz i'd just put in a few things together. So now, they had to name the dish - what else but Chicken Miscuzi? ;) :D
Herez what i put in...
Served a dollop of cheesy-chicken topped on spiced crackers. I used cheese & chilli crackers, which by itself had some intense seasoning - 'coz of which i didn't really need to spice up the chicken.
For the chicken topping...
Boil the chicken in water with a big pinch of salt for about 20min. Drain the water, let it cool & separate the bones. In a blender, pulse the chicken(just 2 or 3 whirls will do) with a tablespoon of cheese spread to hold it together. You could use any flavored cheese spread - i used plain. Now transfer this into a piping bag and refrigerate.
To serve:
On each cracker, pipe out a dollop of the chilled prepared topping & serve. A light & easy starter.. :)

Pointers:
>> Just so you have an idea of the amount of chicken required - for about 50gm of crackers(check your pack) you need just one chicken drumstick.
>> Feel free to add more spices(crushed pepper/ chilly flakes etc) to the chicken if you are using some bland crackers.
>> Sonali suggested this topping as a sandwich filler & it tastes YuMmmmm!!! :)

Scotch eggs... with a noodle-y twist...

A Scotch egg consists of a hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. Read more here!
Been wanting try out Scotch eggs since some time - though i wasn't really keen on handling meat in the morning. Was going through some recipes at the Nestle site yesterday and found one using maggi. Maggi & eggs are T's all time favorites.. so, if i can make something more with them, why not? ;)
The potatoes, instant noodles & eggs can be cooked simultaneously while you get to finish other chores & all you have to do is - put them together in the end & fry them. Gets done in no time & is a fun breakfast / picnic option.

I made them using soft boiled eggs only coz T likes them runny. Harder to work with since you need to be really realllllyyy careful. Will stick to hard-boiled eggs from now on! ;) You need:
For 2 hard boiled eggs -
1 small pack instant noodles cooked - i used Maggi
1 big potato - boiled
salt & chilly powder for seasoning
Breadcrumbs - 2 tbsp for mixing & extra for coating
Oil for deep frying

How to:
Once your potatoes, eggs & instant noodles are ready...
Mash the potatoes, season them (i used only salt & chilly powder) and add the noodles. Add 2tbsp bread crumbs & mix well. This will now come together to form a dough. Shell the eggs, grease your palm with a little oil and divide the dough into two portions. Wrap it around the egg so as to get an even coating (refer pointers below for easy steps).
Now roll the coated eggs in bread crumbs & deep fry them. Gently spoon out the Scotch eggs when they turn golden brown & crispy. Drain on a paper towel, cut into halves(length-wise) & serve with ketchup.
If you still plan on going with soft boiled eggs, you could serve some toast to dip into the runny yolks. :)

Pointers:
>> Figured that the easiest way to wrap the egg evenly is to pat out a thick rectangular sheet length about 3/4th the size of your palm, breadth about an inch more than the height of the egg. Start by rolling the wrap around the egg from one end - covering the egg when you reach the other end. Pinch the top & bottom & pat slightly to ensure an even coat.
>> Oil you hands when you work with the dough - makes it a lot easier!
>> Add onions,left-over veggies, additional seasoning - anything that catches your fancy.
>> Guessing that leftover cooked rice (plain/flavored) could replace the noodles. Will try it out & post the results.

This onez for the BP gang that i luuuv & miss soooooo much!!! :)

Of some of the most amaazing people i know... herez to a gang that made the US seem like a DrEaM!! :D Picked up the cartoon from here! :)