Baba ghanoush (Moutabel)

Let me say this over and over again. The best part about blogging are the friends you make in the process. Friends who have now become such an essential part of your life, that even if you stop blogging, they wont just disappear. I have been lucky enough to meet some of the UK-based food bloggers and most of us try and catch up once in a while.

Last week, Suchi of Kitchen Karma invited Manjiri (Slice off me) and me over to her place and we had such a blast. She'd made a Mediterranean spread for lunch and everything tasted fab. The baba ganoush she'd made from scratch was the winner for me, closely followed by the Moroccan braised chicken. Got the recipe links from her the next day and made myself a Mediterranean feast for dinner :)

I am a big fan of Mediterranean food. In fact, a breakfast staple for us is hummus and toast. But I've never really tried making any of this at home, simply because I thought I'd never get the taste spot on. Suchi totally inspired me to give it a go at home and I'm surprised at how a few common ingredients prepared in a different way bring about awesome flavours. Talking of which, I recently got myself a citrus juicer from this really cool online store called Red Candy. Yes, all these years I was painstakingly squeezing limes and lemons and oranges, till the gorgeous red coloured beauty made an appearance. I love it to bits and its made my life so much easier. Previously I used to waste a lot of the juice, but now (like for example in Mediterranean cooking, a lot of lemon juice is used), I squeeze the heck out of the fruit and it gives me immense pleasure :)

The really cool thing about the store is that it is dedicated to the colour red. Be it home furnishing, interior accessories, kitchen stuff or gifts, red is the colour you'll get them in. They have some really innovative products and designs and some of them make really cool gifts. I got myself the citrus juicer, the pretty red and white tea towel and a nice churn jug. Hint: you know where to go for your Valentines day gifts right??? :)

Back to the recipe...To be honest, I had no idea baba ganoush and moutabel were the same thing. Its one of those dishes we religiously order at our favourite restaurant on Edgware Road, and till now thought it was a complicated recipe with speciality ingredients. Well, I couldn't be more wrong. The only ingredient I actually had to buy was the Tahini paste, which is now easily available in all the grocery stores. If it wasn't for my flat glass hob I would have charred the aubergine on fire and would have taken only half the time. Not complaining! It was yum and Ro is so thrilled I made food from his second favourite cuisine in the world (first being Chinese, no kidding!).

Recipe adapted from here 

Aubergines- 3 large, cut in half lengthwise

Garlic- 4 cloves (read notes)

Lemon juice- from one small lemon

Tahini paste- 3 tbsp 

Olive oil- 3 tbsp

Pepper- two grinds (around 1/4 tsp)

Salt- to taste

Chilli powder- to sprinkle (optional)

Preheat the grill/ broiler and line a baking tray with silver foil.

Pierce the aubergine halves with a fork, rub them with about a tsp of olive oil all over and place them, cut side down, on the baking tray.

Place the tray on the top most rack (closest to the broiler) and cook for about 30 minutes or till the aubergines are charred nicely on the outside. Keep checking half way through to avoid burning.

Once done, remove them carefully from the tray and chuck into a zip lock bag and zip it up. Keep aside for about 15 minutes, so that the aubergines can steam in their skins.

Scoop out the flesh from the charred skin (it comes off easily) and place in a bowl. 

Add the garlic, lemon juice, tahini, 2 tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper and pulse using an immersion blender or just whisk vigorously using a fork till they all come together.

Transfer the goodness into a serving bowl, swirl the remaining olive oil on top, sprinkle the chilli powder and serve with pita bread, vegetable sticks, bread or even tortilla crisps.

Notes: The original recipe called for only 2 cloves of garlic, but i had 4 peeled ones lying around and used that. Bad idea, as it was very garlicky. Id stick to two the next time.

I don't like chunky pieces of aubergine in my dip, so I blended it to a smooth consistency. Feel free to leave some of the texture in your dip by just mashing it with a fork.

You can also char the aubergines in the oven. Follow the above prep. methods but instead of grilling just bake them in an oven preheated at 200C for about 40 minutes.

With thanks to Red Candy for sending me the red props to review :)

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Review: Hotel Chocolat.

Hotel Chocolat sent me a box of chocolates to review and I must say the box didn't last that long. Each time I get a box of chocolates to review, the first thing I do is take a picture because I know it wont last for more than 2 days after the husband gets his hands on them. He is the chocolate fan in the house and so this review is purely based on what he thinks of Hotel Chocolat.

I was given the option to choose from their H-Box Selection and it was a difficult one. The boxes are segregated into different chocolate types- caramel, boozy, fruity, nutty, milk, white and so on- and comes in a convenient size box. My initial choice was the H-Box Everything Selection which meant I could enjoy a bit of everything, but the husband had other plans and he convinced me to go for the H- Box Dark Selection, purely because he is such a big fan of dark chocolates. It was not a bad choice I presume, considering that the box was emptied in 2 days time.

That said, if you are not a dark chocolate fan, this selection is perhaps not the best option. I do like dark chocolate, but I found this a tad too bitter for my liking. I know, I know, its sacrilegious to say so, but I might go for another selection the next time. I know that my review doesn't count here, but if I were to select a few favourites from the lot, it would be the Pistachio Praline, Salted soft caramel and the Pecan Brownies. The Burnt Caramel was indeed burnt (in a good sort of way) and the Chilli Pralines had that heat when you took a bite, but it didn't do much for me. The husband claimed it was one of the best dark chocolate collection he ever had and some cousins and friends who tasted them agreed with him. What we both didn't enjoy that much was the Liquorice Caramels, but that's just cos we are not liquorice fans.

On the whole I think Hotel Chocolat has managed to bring in some variety in the 'dark chocolate' league, and every piece is distinctly different from the other. The box is a good gift idea and at GBP 12 is a steal.  

With thanks to Hotel Chocolat for sending me sample boxes to review. Opinions are honest.

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Blackberry bramble

Finally summer is here (to stay I hope). Days are warm with highs of 20C and evenings are cool. Pleasant enough to sit out on the balcony and enjoy a beer. The pub near our house is almost always full and its impossible to get a seat outside. My flip-flops and skirts have come out of hibernation, but I'm not yet brave enough to venture out in shorts as the crazy winds are still around, reminding us that summer is not completely here.

I have been bugging Ro to take me on one of those countryside walks...through the gorgeous yellow rapeseed fields. I hope I have one more weekend with loads of sunshine and high temperature to venture out, before they are harvested. On one Sunday afternoon when all of London was out enjoying the sun, we went into Greenwich town to check out Jamie Oliver's new restaurant "Jamie's Italian' and I had a blackberry bramble which was just amazing. I HAD to recreate it at home and that's exactly what I did on a Friday when the temperatures hit a high of 26C. Its not the authentic bramble which has Creme De Mure, the blackberry liqueur, in it, but I made it work with whatever was at home. Apologies for hijacking the name for something not even remotely related to the original. I thought it would be fun to do individual servings in small milk bottles. No one questioned me, because they all know better than to argue with a crazy prop-obsessed food blogger :)

I'd been lusting behind these really cute school milk bottles from the dotcomgiftshop website and as luck would have it, they sent me a set to review. They have a lot of cool stuff on their website, especially for food bloggers who are prop obsessed. There are 6 bottles in a crate and they are oh-so-adorable. They are great to serve individual drinks in and can double up as a decorative item at home- like mini flower vases. The only problem is that the bottles are tiny, and can take only about 1/2 a cup of liquid each. May not be that great for adults- especially when you give them an awesome drink and they finish it off in a gulp- but they just look too pretty and I love them. I can see myself using them as prop ever so often.

Recipe adapted from here (serves 3)

Gin- 4 oz

Blackberries- 10 to 12 (plus enough to garnish)

Lime cordial- 3 oz

Simple syrup- 3 oz (recipe follows)

Ice cubes- a hand full + enough to top

Tonic water- 300 ml

Make simple syrup by boiling together equal parts of sugar and water. Stir till the sugar dissolves. Keep aside to cool and use as required. Of course I'm lazy, so I just mix water and sugar in a glass and chuck into the microwave for a couple of minutes. Take the glass out, stir to dissolve the sugar and chick it into the freezer for a couple of minutes.

Combine the gin, blackberries, lime cordial and simple syrup together in a cocktail shaker.

Add a hand full of ice cubes and shake away.

Strain into glasses, add more ice and top with tonic water.

For the glass bottles, I strained the drink into a measuring jug, topped with the tonic water, gave a gentle stir and then poured it out into the bottles.

With thanks to dotcomgiftshop for sending me the milk bottles to review.

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Challah bread

I don't have too many bread recipes on my blog. Its not because I don't bake bread, its because the process takes waaay too long in this cold weather. I have to start in the morning for it to rise (twice) and have it ready for dinner. Which makes it impossible to take pictures. This time however, I was lucky, since I had a bread bin to keep my bread in and not worry about it going stale since the next sunny day was 2 days later. You think I'm crazy? Join the club. I know a whole lot of people who think I'm crazy because I check the weather every hour to plan my photo shoot. Lucky for me, most of my readers are food bloggers and you'd know exactly what I'm talking about!

Garden Trading is this beautiful online store which provides functional everyday products for the home and garden. First look at their website and I was hooked. I wanted everything they displayed and they fit my style so so well. I'm a sucker for anything rustic with the whole country-house, farm house feel and Garden Trading has everything that fits the theme.. I was sent the Bread Bin in Flint to review and since we were on the look out for a bread bin, the timing couldn't be better. 

The colour, a soft grey, blends well with my decor, the design stylish with a chrome handle lid, and the interior the same soft grey colour. The only (small) issue I had was the size, which for my tiny kitchen was a tad too big. I have very little counter space and so putting the bin there wasn't an option. It was too big to go on top of my microwave either. That said, the bin can easily hold two big loaves of bread and we've even chucked in some packs of chocolate and stuff as well. We made it work somehow and I, for one, love having the bread bin in my kitchen now.

The Challah bread (pronounced "hallah") was put in the bread bin for about 2 days and then I made some delicious French toast with it. I've wanted to make this gorgeous looking bread for so long but kept putting it off because I thought the braid was complicated. And it was!! After watching numerous YouTube videos I still didn't get it right. Tried it thrice and then on the 4th I just made a normal 3 braid challah, shaped it in a circle and called it a day. The bread is soft, slightly sweet and perfect with a spread of brandy butter. Or if you want to be more experimental, make a French toast or bread pudding with this gorgeous looking bread.

Recipe halved from here (makes one small loaf)

 

Plain flour- 2 to 2 1/4 cups 

Granulated sugar- 

Salt- 1 tsp

Instant yeast- 1 tsp

Egg- 1 large

Egg yolk- 1 small (take off about 1 tsp from this and keep aside to do an egg wash)

Water- 1/2 cup (lukewarm)

Vegetable oil- 1 oz

Into the bowl of a free standing mixer (or mixing bowl if using your hand) add the flour, sugar, salt and instant yeast. Stir to combine.

Make a well in the centre and add the egg, egg yolk and vegetable oil. Mix using a wooden spoon till the mix becomes wet.

Add the warm water, and using the same wooden spoon mix them all together...roughly.

Attach the dough hook and knead on medium speed for about 5 to 6 minutes, or till the dough is soft and smooth and is no longer sticky. My dough was really sticky, so I ended up adding at least 2 tbsp of flour. If you are using your hands to knead, then flour a work top and knead for about 10 minutes till you achieve the desired consistency.

Lightly oil the same bowl and place the (lightly greased) dough ball in it. Cover with a cling film and leave it in aside to rise. I preheated my oven at 100C for about 6 to 7 minutes and placed the bowl inside with the light on. It took the dough about 3 1/2 hours to double in size.

Punch the dough down and separate the dough into 3 equal sizes. 

Roll each of them out into a long rope about 1 inch thick and around 8 to 10 inches long. They might shrink as you try to roll them. In that case, just leave them aside to rest for 5 minutes and try it again.

Join the ends of all the three ropes and secure tightly by pressing then together.

Then spread the three ropes and try and braid them like how you do your hair. If you mess up, don't worry, start over. (I had to.. thrice!).

Once you reach the end, carefully tuck them under the braid and shape them into a round, joining both the ends.

Place it carefully on to a baking tray lined with baking paper, cover with the same cling film, and leave it to rise in a warm place for another hour or two. I did the same oven method.

When ready to bake, pre heat the oven to 175C.

Mix the egg yolk with some egg white and 1/2 tbsp water and brush over the risen challah, generously and making sure you don't miss the cracks and sides of the loaf.

Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan half way through for even cooking.

The loaf is done when it turns a golden brown colour.

take it out of the oven and leave to cool on a rack for about 10 minutes, after which you can slice, spread some butter or jam and have it warm.

Notes: The recipe can easily be doubled.

The dough is slightly sticky, so I had to use a generous amount of flour on the work surface while rolling out the rope.

The bread stayed absolutely fine for a week in the bread bin. I wrapped it in some aluminium foil and placed it in.

With thanks to Garden Trading for sending me a bread bin to review.

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Netholi fry (Fried anchovies)

I've been a bit busy (good busy) with work catching on and a cousin visiting from India. Its been quiet around here and I haven't really cooked that much or taken pics in a while. Its a long weekend here and for some strange reason, the weather has been great. We've been out enjoying the sun before the next set of rains and temperature drops happen. 

I made nethili fry a couple of weeks back with the intention of serving it as a starter for a party we threw at home. Since it was my first time with the fish, I decided to try it out a day before, just to see if it would turn out ok. It didn't. It went all soggy on me and I decided to not serve it at the party. Instead I just bought crisps :)

I have this thing against deep frying and after some helpful inputs from Ria, I decided to give it a shot again. I didn't deep fry it, instead shallow fried it. It does make a terrible mess (or maybe that's just me) and takes a tad longer than deep frying, but you do get crispy anchovies..the way its supposed to be. If cooked well, they are great to snack on and perfect with some cold beer. 

Recipe adapted from here and here (serves 2)

Nethili- 250 gms, cleaned- remove head, tail and all the unnecessary inside parts

Lemon juice- 1 tsp

Salt- 1/4 tsp

Oil- to fry

Marinade

Kashmiri chilli powder- 2 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Fennel powder- a lil less than 1/4 tsp

Pepper powder- 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp (optional)

Ginger paste- 1/2 tsp

Garlic paste- 1 tsp

Yoghurt- 1/2 tbsp (optional)

Curry leaves- a sprig

Salt- to taste

Marinate the fish with lemon juice and salt for about 5 minutes. This really gets rid of the fishy smell. Rinse well and keep aside.

Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade. If it is too dry, feel free to add a spoon or so of water to get a smooth paste. 

Do a taste test and add more salt or spice if required.

Add the fish to the marinade and mix well to coat the pieces well. Keep aside for about 15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a kadai or frying pan (enough to cover the base of the pan properly). It should be really hot, otherwise you will end up with soggy ones. 

Add the fish (in batches if required) and fry on both sides, till brown and crispy. Keep the heat on medium all through.

Remove the fish and the crispy curry leaves with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Squeeze a lemon over and serve warm.

Notes: The recipe can be easily doubled.

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Review: Thorntons Chocolates

My brother and I used to look forward to relatives visiting from abroad just for the chocolates. Those fancy ones with nuts and fruits and all that jazz were so totally popular among us kids, the fights we've had over them are endless. So the moment someone gifted us chocolates, my mum used segregate them and make sure we both got equal share. I used to happily finish off my share and then beg and plead with my brother to give me some of his. After a bit of convincing, he would actually part with some of his stash and I'd do a victory dance. When the situation was reversed, I'd be this really mean sister and refuse to give him some from my share and stand solid on the fact that mum segregated them so we wouldn't have to share. Go on, say it...I'm horrible. :) :)

Anyways, coming to today's review...Thorntons was the first brand of chocolates I was introduced to in the UK. Our first year here was a year of exploring everything British, and chocolates topped the list (for a while at least). My husband is such a Thorntons fan he says there is nothing better than Thorntons ice cream. Its a bit of an exaggeration, but I'll let it pass.

I was sent one of the boxed chocolates by Thorntons- the Continental Milk, White & Dark Collection- to review and that was our after dinner treat for about 2 weeks. Its their finest chocolate range and a good gift idea for anyone who loves chocolate. More so if you don't know what the persons preference is, since this box contains an equal mix of milk, white and dark chocolates, with fruity flavours, with nutty centres, mousses, pralines and so on. We are more of the dark chocolate lovers, so we thought the white and milk ones would go to waste, but I absolutely liked them and there was none left. The ones I didn't really enjoy much were the fruity chocs, but that's just me. I have an issue pairing fruits with chocolates and so the husband took it upon himself to eat it all. The boxes come beautifully packed and you would think twice before throwing it away (and maybe even the ribbon. Yes I have a hoarding problem). They are also packaged well and the chocolates were all intact when it arrived at my doorstep.

If you ever get stuck with a gift idea for a friend, don't forget to check out Thorntons' great gift ideas. They really do have a few options to choose from. Word of advice: Dont gift this box to someone who plans on going on a diet. You may get an earful for the sin they are about to commit. Instead, check out the Thorntons website and get inspired.

With thanks to Thorntons for sending me the samples.

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Curried coconut shrimp and Merrydown cider review

I love cider, more than beer. I started off with the really sweet ones and now my preference is the medium or the dry ones which are perfect to glug on a hot summer afternoon. A couple of weeks back, we had some great weather and as luck would have it Merrydown Cider sent me their cider to review. It was my first time with Merrydown and my first cider this season and so was really excited. Yes, I do have seasonal drinks, in case you ask ;)

They also sent me a Great Summer Celebrations recipe booklet featuring some great ideas using cider as a key ingredient, which you can download. Since summer is just around the corner (or I'm hoping its just around the corner), I thought the cider would be a great addition to the BBQ parties and brunches. I paired it with this simple coconut shrimp starter and it was perfect. I always think fried food and cold drinks go hand in hand. My initial plan was to make a cider-batter for the shrimp, but the dry cider bottle broke in transit and so had to just do a pairing instead. I promise I'll update the post once I get hold of their dry cider, which I'm pretty sure would be my favourite out of the two. Not that the medium cider was any bad, but it was a teeny tiny bit on the sweeter side and since I've evolved from  the really sweet drinks (be it wine, cocktails or cider), the dry version would have hit the spot (or so I think). 

Anyways, coconut shrimp has made its way through to my blog before and this time I did a curried version which is not too bad, but I preferred my first version better. The marinade options are endless and if you do get your hands on some dry beer or cider, then the batter would be even better. I served the shrimp with a mayo-ketchup sauce (recipe here), but feel free to serve with just ketchup or any other hot sauce.

Serves 2 to 3 as starter

Shrimp- 250 gms, cleaned and deveined

Curry powder- 1 tsp

Salt- to taste

Plain flour- around 1/4 cup

Baking soda- 1/4 tsp (optional)

Pepper- 1/4 tsp

Salt- to taste

Egg- 1, small

Water- 1 to 2 tbsp

Dessicated coconut- 1/2 to 1 cup

Oil- to fry

Marinate the shrimp with curry powder and salt and keep aside for about 15 minutes.

In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, pepper and salt.

Add the egg and enough water to make a smooth batter. It shouldn't be too loose.

Tip in the marinated prawns into the batter and mix well to coat the prawns evenly.

Get the dessicated coconut ready in a plate

Heat oil in a deep saucepan. Check that the oil is done by dropping some batter into it. If it floats to the top immediately then you are good to go.

When ready to fry, take each shrimp out of the batter, drip off any excess and roll in the dessicated coconut a couple of times to coat as evenly as possible.

Drop into the oil. 

Repeat with remaining shrimp. 

Once the prawns turn golden brown on one side (in about 2 minutes), turn them over and cook for another 2 minutes or so.

Remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

You may need to fry them in a couple of batches, depending on the size of the pan.

With thanks to Merrydown Cider for sending me the samples.

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Pin it Forward UK and the 1-minute chocolate chip cookie (in a mug)

I'm assuming most of you know about Pinterest already? For those of you who don't, its this amazing platform for collecting and organising the things you love, or are interested in by "pinning" them. I first came across Pinterest on one of my random blog stats check where I saw a lot of traffic form the site. Suspicious and a bit worried really, I checked out the site and couldn't make head or tail of it at one look. Spent a couple of hours reading up and doing some research and I was hooked. Got myself an account and was soon spending hours on the site pinning the things I love. 

Now its become such a part of my research that I have this tendency to search for anything on Pinterest first, rather than Google. I mostly pin recipes, both from my blog and otherwise, and fabulous food photography from where I derive a lot of my inspiration from. Other than these boards, I totally love the DIY, fashion & beauty and home décor information and inspiration I find from all the fabulous pinners. The advantage here is that these pins are linked back to the original source and so you don't need to worry about stuff being copied. 

Pinterest has officially launched in UK and they had this fabulous party to celebrate that. We all got to meet fellow pinners and it was a fun night with loads of food and drinks. If you are already on Pinterest then do follow me here or if you aren't hooked on as yet, then register on Pinterest here. Just a warning, its frikking addictive, but you'd love, love, love it :)

I would also like to introduce two amazing fellow pinners and food bloggers, Michelle of Greedy Gourmet who has an amazing array of recipes, reviews and giveaways on her blog, not to mention her beautiful food photography, and Emma of Poires au Chocolat who completely got me hooked on her beautiful cakes and treats.

The recipe below is one I got from Pinterest. Its been pinned some 3000 odd times (yes, there is every reason to trust this recipe) and its as easy as it can get to make a cookie. When the whole mug cake recipe was a rage in the blog world, I didn't fall prey to it because, truth be told, I hate microwave cakes.  This happened out of desperation, on a day I was sugar starved and HAD to have a cookie, yes just one would have made me happy. As usual Pinterest came to my rescue and I had a chewy chocolate chip cookie in under a minute. In fact, if it wasnt for the egg yolk, I would have had the batter on its own :)

You will most certainly have all these ingredients in your pantry at any given time and so there is no excuse to not make it. So immediately after reading this, please do yourself a favour and check if it works, if not for the cookie craving (which usually for me is after mid night) :)

1-minute chocolate chip cookie (in a mug). Recipe adapted from here

Butter- 1 tbsp

Granulated white sugar- 1 tbsp

Dark brown sugar- 1 tbsp, firmly packed

Vanilla extract- 3 splashes

Salt- a pinch

Egg yolk- 1

Plain flour- 3 tbsp

Chocolate chips- 2 tbsp ( I used dark choc. chips)

Melt butter in the microwave, preferably in the same cup you are planning to make the cookie in (to make it mess free and simpler). The butter should not boil, it should be just melted.

Add the white and brown sugars, vanilla and salt and mix well to combine, using a spoon.

In goes the egg yolk. Mix it in properly till no traces of the yolk is seen.

Mix in the flour properly and then fold the chocolate chips.

Cook on high in the microwave for 40 seconds, or a maximum of 50 seconds.

Serve warm (maybe even with a dollop of ice cream).

Note: If you over cook it, the cookie starts drying and is awful (yes it has happened). So reduce cooking time if that happens to you

Like most cookies, this once will continue to cook as it cools.

Feel free to double it, in case your partner longingly looks at you gobbling it all up :)
I used a small espresso cup which was about 3/4th full. The dough rises a bit so make sure you dont fill it to the brim.
Feel free to use a ramekin, coffee cup or any small dish.

I was invited to be part of the Pin it Forward campaign by Pinterest, but was not compensated in any way for the same. All thoughts on Pinterest are my own.

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Blueberry cream cheese butter cake

Its been ages since I updated the blog, and even longer since I posted a cake recipe. I have half written posts in my drafts and loads of reviews to be done, but somehow my days have become really busy..ever since I started working part time. I love my job and its opened up a completely new world of baking and cooking and such for me. More on that later.

I am not going to ramble today, yes, time constrained, so I'll go straight to the recipe. Like I said before, I hadn't baked a cake in a looong time and so on a day I felt the need to eat something seriously unhealthy, cake was what came to my mind. My usual Google searches led me to this fab recipe, tried by 3 of my fav bloggers and so I knew it was going to be a winner. 

Loads of butter, loads of sugar and loads of cream cheese is what nice things are made of. So by no means think that this is a low calorie cake...which I think is bull shit any way. There is nothing called low calorie cake. If you want to eat cake then go all out and eat the real thing is my motto! Which is also probably why I need to go on a crazy diet :O

I usually don't like to bake with butter, more so because the whole creaming it with sugar etc etc is messy and time consuming, as opposed to oil which is soo cool, you just pour it into the batter (and also I can be a teeny tiny happy its a bit better than butter). But once in a while I don't mind going all out and, although I cringed at the amount of ingredients needed, that's exactly what I did with this cake! The outcome was delicious. I mean really, really delicious. Its so moist, like melt-in-your-mouth moist, and the blueberries break down the sweetness at intervals. It so versatile, you can definitely make this cake plain or add any other flavouring like orange or lemon and it would be great. TRUST ME!

Recipe adapted from here (makes an 8 inch loaf cake + an 8 inch square cake)

Caster sugar- 1 cup

Butter- 250 gms, softened

Vanilla extract- 1 tsp

Eggs- 3, medium at room temperature

Cream cheese- 250 gms

Milk- 1/3rd cup

Self-raising flour- 2 1/4 cups

Blueberries- 150 gms, fresh or frozen (I used fresh)

I didn't have self raising flour so I made my own by sifting together 3 1/2 tsp of baking powder with 2 1/4 cups of plain flour. The ideal measurement is 2 tsp baking powder to 1 cup plain flour.

Pre heat the oven to 160C and line an 8 inch loaf pan and 8 inch square brownie  pan with baking paper

Beat together the sugar butter and vanilla extract in a free standing mixer, using the paddle attachment, till soft and fluffy. You can use your hand beater as well.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Change to the whisk attachment and add the cream cheese and milk. Whisk till the mix turns lump free and you get a smooth batter.

Add the flour and whisk just until mixed.

Using a spatula, fold in the blueberries.

Pour the batter into the lined pans till about 1/4th full and bake for about 50 minutes or till a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. My brownie pan took only 40 minutes to bake.

Once done, cool completely on a wire rack and before eating either dust with some icing sugar or have it plain.

Notes: Original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Even for an ardent sugar lover I thought that was a bit too much, so i reduced it to 1 cup. It was pleasantly sweet.

I changed to whisk attachment half way through because i noticed that the cream cheese was still in lumps and not smoothening out with the paddle attachment. The whisk worked like a charm.

The cake keeps well in the refrigerator for about a week. I cling wrapped it properly and refrigerated it. It also freezes well.

Replace the blueberries with any berry of choice.

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Prawn pollichathu (cooked with spices in banana leaf)- A guest post for Manju's Eating Delights

 

Manju of Manju's Eating Delights and I don't go a long way back, but it feels like I've known her forever. I only recently started following her blog posts and I must say I'm hooked. We are facebook friends and needless to say, you invariably end up being a part of each others food journey, and even life. She's a pro at cake decorating (seriously, check out this Carousel Cake she made for a birthday) and is a friendly and cheerful person. I hope that some day I get to meet her in person and maybe even taste a dish or two made by her. While she's busy setting up her new home, I'm taking over her page today to share a lil something I made. 

I am not too much of a seafood fan, or should I say, I WAS not a seafood fan, because these days I do indulge in a seafood of choice once in a while, which is mostly fish that is masala-fied so much it hardly tastes like fish. I know its sacrilegious to even say that, but sadly that's what works. Prawns are a different story altogether. I have never had an aversion to it, well, my husband would roll his eyes at this. But I can usually handle any prawn prep, except when its just boiled, like in a prawn cocktail. Ok fine, you can say I'm a fussy eater and a pseudo foodie :)

 

Coming to the prawn pollichathu recipe, its an absolutely delicious prep and a crowd pleaser. Don't be put off by the crazy list of ingredients, its really not that difficult at all. Banana leaves impart that special taste to the whole prep, but I understand that its not readily available everywhere. I myself usually just use aluminium foil in its place, but this time I wanted to give banana leaves a try and had to go all the way to the Indian store to get myself a batch. I cleaned and froze a couple of them in a zip lock bag for future use.

Hope you enjoy this mallu dish, and thanks to manju for having me over at her space. Check out the recipe here

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Kuzhi paniyaram

That's one more thing crossed off the "to make" list. I kept whining about not having an unniappam/aebleskiver pan for so long, my mum sent hers through my sister-in-law last year. For some strange reason I thought I couldn't use it on my flat glass hob and packed it up to send it back. But an over packed suitcase meant she had to leave some stuff behind and this pan was the first thing to be thrown out of the suitcase because my mum really couldn't care less about unniappams and she said she dint really want it back. So it was stashed away in a corner and forgotten....

...till a few weeks back when Vineetha sent me some yummy unniappam from her Vishu celebrations and I decided it was high time I fixed my unniappam pan issue. I mean I was having unniappam after some 2 or 3 years and it brought back all those memories and cravings for the same. Took the pan out and decided to give it a go (before Ro got back home from work, or else he would find some fault with it). As usual the necessary ingredients- jaggery and bananas- weren't in stock, but since the pan was out I HAD to make something in it. 

The dosa batter (store bought) came to my rescue and since kuzhi paniyarams were a close second on the list, I got down to business. The pan worked and the paniyarams came out great. I was so excited at the outcome I couldn't wait to show Ro when he got back home. Of course he couldn't understand why I was getting hyper about the "idli's," after he bit into one. Thank god for whatsapp, I sent my sister-in-law (yes the one who brought me the pan) a pic and she was as excited as me, cos I introduced her to paniyarams at a South Indian restaurant here in London.

I served these with coconut chutney and it was the perfect tea time snack. The pan was put to good use shortly after where I made tiny vada's using the MTR vada mix. Like a fellow blogger friend said, it would be great as a starter with drinks and such.

Idli/ dosa batter- 2 cups

Baking soda- 1/4 tsp

Coriander leaves- 3 tbsp, finely chopped

Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves- 6 to 8, finely chopped
Ginger- 1 tsp, finely grated (optional)

Green chillies- 2, finely chopped

Shallots- 1/4 cup

Asafoetida- a pinch (optional)

Grated coconut- 2 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Oil- to fry

In a large bowl mix the batter with baking soda and salt and keep aside for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a saucepan and splutter mustard seeds followed by curry leaves.

Tip in the ginger, green chillies and shallots and asafoetida and sauté till the onions wilt and turn light brown.

Add the grated coconut, stir for a couple more minutes and take it off the heat. Keep aside to cool.

Into the batter throw in coriander leaves and cooked mix and stir well to combine. Do a taste test and add more salt if required.

Heat the paniyaram pan and add a few drops of oil into each of the holes.

Once the oil is hot, add a tbsp of batter into each of the holes.

Cook on medium heat till the edges start turning brown.

At this point flip them using a fork or a skewer and let the other side cook equally. Drain on paper towels.

Add more oil into the holes and repeat till all of the batter is used up.

Notes: The batter I get from the store is very thick and so I dilute it with a bit of water.

The baking soda helps in achieving nice soft idlis and such and so by practise I always mix it in my batter. The paniyarams puffed up nicely with that addition.
Of course, you can make the same without a paniyaram pan, just that you wont get the perfect rounds. I have tried the same here is the recipe. Tasted just the same.

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Baked chicken taquitos and guava margarita

I love love love Mexican food. Sadly though London doesn't have that many Mexican restaurants and I think its worked to Ro's advantage because, given a choice, I would only pick a Mexican restaurant when we dine out. So when I'm left wanting Mexican food, I have these Mexican themed days at home where its all margaritas and quesadillas and stuff.

Last week I went into one of those "moods" and instead of doing the usual quesadillas (which I also did make) and tortilla wraps, I decided to try some new dishes. On the menu was the 7-layer dip which Id been eyeing ever since my cousin sent me a pic of her version but last minute movie plans were obviously more important than the dip and so I ditched that idea. Instead I made taquitos which, if you have the filling and everything ready a day before, is such a breeze to put together. They can be made days in advance and frozen and baked just before serving. 

 

The original taquitos are deep fried, but that was definitely not an option for me. So I had to look for a baked version and these didn't disappoint. They are quite versatile and can be filled with anything you want, maybe even something sweet. 

No Mexican meal is complete without some margaritas and that's exactly what I paired these with. You get these massive margarita bottles in Costco and its become my absolute favourite. I keep trying different flavours with that as the base and all of it have turned out great. This time i made guava margaritas and added some jalapeños to it for that extra kick. I also rimmed the glass with smoked maldon sea salt which strangely tasted great with the spicy margarita.

Baked chicken taquitos (recipe adapted from here, makes 12)

Chicken- 2 cups, cooked and shredded

Cream cheese- 3oz, softened

Salsa- 1/4 cup

Lime juice- 1 /2 tbsp

Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Onion granules- 1/2 tsp (can use powder as well)

Garlic- 3 cloves, finely chopped

Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp

Spring onions- 2, finely chopped

Mexican spicy cheddar cheese- 1 cup (replace with cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack cheese)

Flour tortillas- 12, small

Salt- to sprinkle

Oil- to brush

Pre heat the oven to 220C and line a large baking tray with baking paper.

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients except the tortillas, salt and oil. 

Warm the tortillas for about 20 seconds, 3 at a time, in the microwave and keep ready.

Spoon in 2 table spoons of the filling on to one end of the tortilla and roll it up as tightly as possible. Don't over fill the tortillas or they will ooze out once in the oven.

Place on the baking tray, seam side down. and without touching each other.

Repeat till all the filling is used up.

Brush the tops of the rolled up taquitos with cooking oil and sprinkle salt on them.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or till the taquitos are crisp and golden brown.

Notes: I cooked chicken breast with salt and pepper in a saucepan and then shredded them using a fork

Original recipe called for parsley. I cant stand the herb so I used coriander leaves instead.

The cheese I used was spicy so my filling was a bit spicy (which we loved).

Guava margarita (makes 4)

Lime juice- 1/2 cup

Tequila- 1 cup

Triple sec- 3 tbsp

Simple syrup- 4 tbsp (boil equal parts of sugar and water in a saucepan till you get a syrup)

Guava juice- 1 cup (I used Rubecon brand)

Ice cubes- as required
Pickled jalapenos- 2 to 3 rounds

Lime wedge- for rimming the glass

Maldon sea salt- for glass (optional)

Get a plate with the sea salt ready.

Rub the lime wedge around the rim of the margarita glasses and dip them into the salt. Chuck them into the refrigerator while you get the drink ready.
In a cocktail shaker or blender combine the remaining ingredients.
Pour into the prepared glasses and serve cold.

 

Notes: Like I mentioned I have pre made margarita and to 1 cup of this mix I add about 3/4 cups of guava juice, stir well and add to the glass with a couple of ice cubes. 
I don't like the crushed ice cubes, so I just add cubes directly to the glass and pour the marg over it.
Replace the guava juice with any fruit juice of choice.
Adjust sugar as per choice. I like mine a tad sweeter.
Its a bit spicy because of the jalapeños, avoid if not a fan

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Almond crinkle cookies {gluten free}

After a really long time I took my camera out to take some pics only to realise there was absolutely no motivation. But since it was a sunny day (for a change) and since I didn't have anything in my drafts to post, I decided to bake and make use of the lighting to take some pics.

I had bookmarked a recipe for almond crinkle cookies, but then the measurements seemed a bit confusing and so I ended up doing my own thing. I was 90 percent sure it wouldn't work out, but was pleasantly surprised at the end result. I made chocolate crinkle cookies a long time back and it is one of my most popular posts on the blog. They are an absolute crowd pleaser and perfect gifts- especially Christmas, because those powdered sugar tops make them look like snow mountains.

 

Anyways, we are not here to talk about the chocolate crinkles are we? The star here are the almond crinkles which are not bad at all, in fact I like them better than the choc crinkles and hot out of the oven, they are delish. I also thought they were easier to put together compared to the choc ones- the entire process was done in half an hour. Its a one-bowl, no-fuss recipe which I'm sure I'll be making again.

The pictures however, are horrible. Once I was done with baking, my mind just went blank. I just didn't know how to style them and make them look great. Even the perfect lighting couldn't inspire me. So I just chucked them all in a bowl and did the easiest possible thing...used a white background and back lighting to take boring pics. That said, I took 125 pics of the same damn thing in different angles. Transferred them on to the computer only to realise most of them were out of focus and the harsh lighting was hurting my eyes. So I had to re-do the whole setting with diffused lighting and then cleaning up the mess just made it so exhausting, I stayed away from pictures and editing and writing for two days. Hence the delay in posting the recipe after teasing you all with the picture on fb. Apologies!

Makes 20 small cookies

Egg- 1 medium

Granulated sugar- 63 grams

Lime juice- 1/2 tsp (optional)

Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp (optional)

Ground almonds- 150 gms

Fine semolina- 40 gms

Baking powder- 1/2 tsp

Vegetable oil- 1 tbsp 

Powdered sugar- to roll the cookies

Beat the egg and sugar together in a mixing bowl till pale yellow. I used my hand whisk to do this, but feel free to use a hand blender if you please.

Add the lime juice and vanilla extract to it and continue whisking till well mixed.

Throw in the ground almonds, semolina and baking powder one after the other and fold it all in using a spatula. The mix would be slightly coarse, but that's ok. Just make sure you mix it well.

Pour the vegetable oil and give a thorough mix till they all come together.

You can either chuck the bowl into the refrigerator for a couple of minutes for the dough to set which would make it easier to roll, but I didnt need to do this as the dough was of perfect consistency.

Even after you have refrigerated, if your mix still is a little too loose, just add more semolina, or if its too thick, loosen it up with a few drops of milk.

In the mean time, preheat your oven to 160C and get the baking tray ready with baking paper.

Put a couple of spoons of powdered sugar on a plate and start rolling the dough.

Wet you hands lightly and make small balls with the dough (about half tbsp per ball) and roll in icing sugar. The ball should be completely covered with icing sugar.

place them about an inch apart on the baking sheet. The cookies expand when baking and the icing sugar cracks giving it that crinkly top effect.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and cool for about 5 minutes after which you can (eat them non stop or) transfer on to a wire rack and cool completely before storing in air tight containers or zip lock bags.

Notes: Feel free to double the recipe for a larger batch
I used gluten free baking powder.

The cookies are not really crunchy, but more cakey in consistency (in a nice sort of way, I promise). bake them a little longer if you want them crunchy

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