Soft as a Petal

Tags

Abc Wednesday, Abc Wednesday Round 6, flowers, garden, gardening, pics, wordless wednesday

S is for the softness of a fresh flower seen in the garden early morning

For more from ABC Wednesday go here..

Happy wednesday to everyone 😀

Tittleless

Tags

55-er, busy, ebook, indus ladies

Admist the numerous household chores and handling a hyper active toddler an irritated Monika logs into reader…. sees the number of posts and shuts it promptly and this has become a cycle of life 😦 hopefully should be back soon

In other news ya ya I know I am late I have made it to the mothers day ebook that Indus ladies compiled… Go here to get your copy… Thanks IndusLadies

Bread Kofta Biryani and more

Tags

baking, biryani, bread, curd, fahsion show, Friday Feast, indian, indian main course, main course, plus size, ramp, recipe, rice, soya, veggies

I love biryanis and I often claim that veg biryani is a term meant to make vegetarians happy and there is no such thing like that, its just a modified form of pulao but then once in a while a recipe like this comes and proves me wrong 😉

When I first saw this sometime ago in Tarala Dala’s book it excited me because I love both koftas and biryanis and a combination of that excellent isnt it 😉

As usual I tweaked the recipe a little to suit what I want and here is how I made it..

Ingredients

For the bread koftas

• 4 bread slices (I took the 5 grain bread)
• 2 tbsp finely chopped onions
• 2 green chillies finely chopped
• 2 tsp curds
• 1/2 carrot grated
• 1 tbsp soya flour
• salt to taste
• some oil

For the rice

• 1 cup long grained rice
• 1 bay leaf
• 1″ cinnamon stick
• 2 cardamom
• 2 cloves
• salt to taste

For the gravy

• 2 cloves
• 1″ cinnamon stick
• 1/4 cup sliced onions
• 1 tsp chilli poweder
• 2 tsp coriander-cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 cup tomatoes sliced
• 1/2 cup curds
• 1/4 cup green peas
• 1/4 cup carrot grated
• 1/4 cup cabbage grated
• 2 tsp pil
• salt to taste

To be mixed together for curd mixture

• 4 tbsp curds
• 2 tbsp chopped mint
• 2 tbsp chopped corrainder
• 2 tbsp water

Method

For the bread koftas

• Combine all the ingredients except oil with some water and mix well
• Shape the mixture into 15-20 even sized rounds.
• Now u can deep fry the koftas or bake them at 180C for about 15 mins or till brown or fry them with a drop of oil in my fav paniyaram pan 😀

For the rice

• Clean, wash and soak rice for approx 15 mins
• Boil 2 cups of water, add the bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and salt and then add the rice
• Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pan and cook till the rice is done
• Seperate each grain of rice with a fork. Keep aside

For the gravy

• Heat oil in a pan and add the cloves and cinnamon
• Add the onions and saute till golden brown
• Add all the dry masalas and saute for 1 min
• Add the tomatoes and cook for 5-7 minutes till oil seperates
• Add the curds, mix well and simmer for further 5 minutes
• Add all the veggies and mix well. Keep aside

For the final assembly

• Spoon out the gravy at the bottom of a baking dish
• Top with bread koftas and cover with cooked rice
• Top with curds mixture
• Cover with a lid or aluminium foil and bake in a pre heated over at 200C for 15-20 mins. Serve hot

The changes I made to the recipe were basically that I added some veggies and soya flour to the koftas and lots of veggies to the gravy… makes it more healthier… and yes didnt deep fry the koftas as suggested and also used much less than what was suggested by the recipe.

What I absolutely loved about this recipe was the fact that this is a true one pot meal not even curd needs to be served along as the top layer is just that

Wanna have a bite with all the layers?

Apart from this so nice of u guys this time to ask where have I been missing since a week… life has been very busy, in the baking class, coming home and practising… It was also N’s birthday last week and we planned a party for him and another friend who had her birthday last saturday and did lots of rain dance 😉 and I baked two cakes for the same… they were yumm and were totally polished off 😀 😀

Mocha Black Forest

Chocolate Sacher Cake

Both the cakes were yummy and were polished off by a gang of 10 people….

What fun that party was and then for the day his actual birthday falls on I planned a surprise family dinner for him with his sister, cousin a few close friends… the higlight of that party was the cake too but this I didnt bake it… I ordered it and u have to see it to understand what I mean

A picture cake with a family collage

Apart from that I have been very busy in one more thing and that is the fashion show that I took part in…  About a month or so back a friend called me saying her friend who is a final year student in JD Institute of Tech is doing a collection for plus size women and will I be interested in walking the ramp for her…. I didn’t think of it much and said yes why not… a sweetheart of a girl came and took my measurements of the dress, showed me a couple of designs and I choose one and then all was forgotten about it till a week or so back when she called saying that we have to come for rehearsals and Rahul Dev Shetty is the one who is choreographing it and there are the likes of Jacky Shetty and Pashmina Barker along with a whole of lot of other models walking for the other segments that I started getting shivers…. 😉 The last time I had walked the ramp was when I was 15 yrs younger and 1/4 the current size…

But Rahul and others did everything to make us all (the plus size models who were all regular women) comfortable and confident and we did walk the ramp after all… It was so much fun… I totally enjoyed myself…

And these are the details for all of those have been asking after seeing the pic on FB, I hope I didnt disappoint those who were asking the designer name 😉

So how has life been with u?

Rasmalai : ICC

Tags

indian cooking challenge, rasmalai

Rasamalai is a sweet I love to the core…. So when Srivalli announced that this month’s challenge is going to be Rasmalai, I was delighted… grinning like a baby 😀 that yesI am going to make rasmalai….

I had fun making it and totally enjoyed myself eating the product too, light spongy and yummy 😀

Go to ICC blog for the recipe

Trans-Continental Baking Experiment – A Chocolate Mud Cake

A couple of days before what started as a small mail thread from GM just to ask about the recipe that works for a Mud Cake turned out to be one of the bakings that I have enjoyed the most in the recent past. The sunshine girl A replied with a recipe that unfortunately didnt come out well for GM in the first time 😦 and then she tried her hand at it and come out with the yummiest looking cake which I wanted to grab and bite and I think all of us felt the same way.And hence started a series of mud cake baking…. smitha, trish and yours truly all of us baked the same cake

After seeing A’s result I was waiting for the saturday to come so that I can try this one out though I had loads of cooking to be done that day but I still couldn’t give this one a miss 🙂 so a dead tired but very excited me started mixing the batter at about 3:30 and a very happy me kept the cake in the oven by about 4pm and damn the worst happened ofcourse u know about it I have ranted already 😉 the current went off exactly after 7 mins of baking ;'( ;'( and a very tensed me started pacing up down the house waiting for the current to come back half sure in my mind that the cake will have to thrown in the dustbin 😦 anyhow the current came back after an hour or so and I put the cake in the oven reluctantly thinking if nothing I will make cake rusk out of it (ok so here is my secret tip… if I spoil a cake I don’t throw it I am mean that way, I bake it anyhow, cut it when it cools in small rusk size slices and then bake it again… turns out yummy cake rusks 🙂 a tip most of us can use sometime in life 😉 ) but surprise surprise the cake came out awesome 😀 😀 😀

The crumb almost perfect, moist little spongy and yummy as it is supposed to be 🙂 I was flying in air :)I didnt frost the cake though as in our household the cakes without icing and frosting are more popular and saves some calories too 😉

I made a couple of changes in the recipe though, first I made half the recipe… two I replaced half the maida with normal whole wheat atta and added an another egg to the mixture.

All in all I enjoyed this too much…. Loads and loads of mails exchanged, tips shared both of baking and weight loss (if u have a couple of women talking this cant be skipped right 😉 ), more recipes exchanged… what fun I had in that week.

So girls what are baking next?

For those who want here is the recipe copied as it as from the site my comments in blue

1. 350 grams dark chocolate pieces
2. 225 grams butter
3. 600 ml water
4. 3 eggs (I suggest use 4)
5. 400 grams castor sugar
6. 400 grams self raising flour (I used half maida, half atta and 1.5 tsp of baking powder)
7. Grease and line a 23cm/9″ round cake tin. Preheat oven to 170C/325F.
8. In a saucepan over low heat, heat chocolate, butter and water. Stir frequently until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
9. In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs. Gradually beat cooled chocolate mixture into eggs.
10. Whisk sugar and flour into chocolate mixture, continue beating until smooth and well blended.
11. Pour mixture into cake tin. Bake for 45 minutes or until skewer inserted into centre of cake comes out clean.
12. Turn cake onto wire rack to cool.

*Please note: This mixture is quite runny, use a solid cake tin not a springform tin.

*Tip: Line tin with baking paper, this will make the cake easier to remove from the tin, no sticking to the sides. ( I didnt do it, I somehow never do it though I agree its a best thing to do)

No comments below because I never made this… may be A, trish and GM can add points here

Truffle Mixture

• 120 grams dark chocolate pieces
• 100 grams butter
• 300 grams sifted icing sugar
• 4 tbsp double or whipping cream

1. In a bowl over a pan of simmering water melt chocolate, stirring frequently.
2. Cool slightly, then stir icing sugar, butter and cream until well blended.

Chocolate Glaze

• 225 grams dark chocolate pieces
• 165 ml double or whipping cream

1. In a saucepan over low heat, heat chocolate and cream, stirring frequently until melted and smooth. Keep warm.

Assembling The Cake

1. Cut cooled mud cake into layers.
2. Spread truffle mixture between layers with a palette knife. Reserve some mixture to finish round the edges of the cake.
3. Position cake on wire cake rack and pour warm glaze over the top.With a palette knife to spread glaze to cover top and side evenly.
4. Put remaining truffle mixture into a piping bag with a star nozzle. Pipe a decorative border around the edge of the cake.

Please hop over to the rest of the gorgeous women, A, GM, Trish and Smitha to see their versions of the Trans-Continental Baking Experiment – A Chocolate Mud Cake

Result

Tags

fun, PJ

I am actually getting very scared publishing this result because after the innovative and imaginative replies that I got I am blown away

From chickens aka eggs crossing the river to naughty thoughts (I knew u guys will think this peverted minds 😉 to the cutest reply that its a white yellow polka dotted cup 😉 to my circles becoming gay 😉 to childbirth

Man I had so much reading the comments and laughing out aloud that I am scared to publish the result. Anyways what got be done gotta be done

So here is what it means

Ok and now I am running away as fast as possible so that none of u is able to catch me and beat me 😉 but guys u had fun accept it and  are laughing now too 😀

so hear this lovely song and have a Wonderful Wednesday and stay tuned for the ABC wednesday coming up later sometime

PS: I will reply to comments soon gosh how often I am saying these days damn

Tricky Tuesdays

Tags

fun, guess, silly

I made up the title myself… he he he. I was just sitting and remembered this thing a friend in college used to make and ask people and I thought of asking the same to you guys….

So what do u think the following picture means?

Ok let me give u a hint …it really silly worst than a PJ 😀

So go on take run your imagination and take your best guess….

Just a Rant

Tags

baking, power, rant

I hate hate hate when power goes off when I have put something in my oven… Why cant we have a unintteriputed power supply? WHY?

after so much of hard work I put my mud cake in oven and after 7 minutes the power goes off

Damn… I am so angry I can kill someone right now

WHY

Week 1 Recap

Tags

baking, breads

And here are some pictures of what we did in the week 1 of the course, just to make u guys drool and for me to remember 😉

Day 1

Dinner Rolls and Bread Sticks

Day 2

Burger Buns, Cheese Crossiants, Chelsea Bun and White Sandwich Bread

Day 3

Carrot Bread, Spinach Bread, Whole Wheat loaf and rusk

Day 4

French Loaf, Multigrain bread, rich plum bun and fruit bun

Day 5

Savorin, Milk Bread and Sweet Bread

Its all about donuts, masala donut, sugar donut and choco donut

Whole Wheat Choco Chip Cookies

Tags

atta, baking, choco chip, chocolate, cookies, Friday Feast, recipe, whole wheat

I love to bake, my son loves to eat baked goodies but still there are times when he has to demand for cookies… 🙂 As these was mainly for him I didnt really want to do anything with maida and then I had this brain wave of making up a recipe myself… I did some browsing and thought some and came up with whole wheat choco chip cookies… and they were yummy…. the thin ones that I made crisp as they should have been and the round thick ones soft and chewy…

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour (atta)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 25 ml chilled milk
• 20 – 35 gm choco chips (depending on whether u going to make it round or shape them)

Method

• Mix oil and sugar together till it becomes light and fluffy
• Mix whole wheat flour, cinnamon powder and baking powder together
• Mix the oil-sugar mixture and milk to the flour to knead a soft dough.
• Add the choco chips in it
• Keep aside for 10 minutes
• Shape or roll into rounds as u want
• Bake for about 9-12 at about 160-180 degrees depending upon the thickness of the cookie

As I was making them for Ojas I shaped them into various shapes, animals, ginger bread boy, aeroplane, car…

And there was Ojas itself as a highlight

And the entire batch of about 20 cookies got over in under an hour 🙂