Twin Chocolate Panna Cotta with Espresso Jelly

If you are a coffee and chocolate person, you will definitely fall in love with this dessert. It is certainly a perfect ending of a grand feast. This recipe is a combination of white and brown chocolate with an espresso jelly topping. Just dig into the dessert and enjoy each bite of chocolate and cream with strong espresso shots.

Serve:          4

Preparation time:    3-4 hours

Ingredients:

Brown Milk Chocolate:                  50 grams

White Milk Chocolate:                   50 grams

Instant Coffee powder:                   1 tablespoon

Gelatine Sheet:                               3 sheets (Jelly sugar for vegetarians)

Heavy Cream:                                300 grams

Sugar:                                            3 tablespoon

Star Anise:                                     1 star

Method:

1)  Heat 150 grams of heavy cream in a sauce pan. Soak the gelatine sheet in cold water for 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon sugar, and grated brown chocolate to the boiling cream. Reduce the heat and add gelatine. Mix it well using the whisk. Pour it in the serving glass and let it set in the refrigerator for 1 hour. I kept my serving glass and mug slanted using a muffin tin to set it diagonally.
2) After an hour, heat another 150 grams of heavy cream in a sauce pan. Soak the gelatine sheet in cold water for 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon sugar, star anise and grated White chocolate to the boiling cream. Reduce the heat and add gelatine. Mix it well using the whisk. Take out the star anise and pour it in the serving glass and let it set in the refrigerator for another hour.
3) After the two layers of panna cotta is set, boil half cup of water and add instant coffee powder and 2 tbsp sugar to it. Add soaked gelatin, mix well. Pour it over the panna cotta and refrigerate it until the jelly is set to serve.

4) Serve cold with some chocolate garnish if required.

BON APPETIT...

Another experiment of flavours with Panna cotta 

Grilled Salmon with Creamy Dill Sauce

I love anything grilled, its vegetable, poultry, fish or cheese. Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below. I am using a stovetop grill pan for this recipe. As we all know, Salmon is a popular food. Classified as an oily fish, salmon is considered to be healthy due to the fish's high protein, high omega-3 fatty acids, and high vitamin D content. An interesting fact about salmon is that they are born in fresh water, migrate to the ocean, and then return to freshwater to reproduce.

I am serving this yummy 20 minutes recipe with layered onion sweet corn rice and tandoori grilled vegetable. You can have it with any set of grilled vegetable of your choice.

Serve:                       2
Preparation time:        20 minutes

Ingredients:

Salmon fillet:             2 large
Lemon:                     1 teaspoons
Salt to taste
Garlic powder:          1/2 tablespoon lemon-pepper seasoning
Butter:                      1/2 teaspoon
White pepper:          1/2 teaspoon
Dried dill:                 1/2 teaspoon

Dill Sauce:
Sour cream:              1/4 cup
Mayonnaise:             1/4 cup
Onion:                      1 tablespoon finely chopped
Lemon juice:             1 teaspoon
Dried dill:                  3/4 teaspoon
Garlic:                       1/4 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Method:
1) Marinate salmon with lemon, salt, garlic, butter, white pepper and dill.
2) Let the salmon rest in freeze for 15 minutes. Cover it with a cling film.
3) Heat some oil in a grill pan and put the marinated salmon on it.
4) Turn side after 5-7 minutes. Cook till its grilled well.
5) You can use a charcoal grill, a oven or a foil baking with the same recipe.
6) For sauce, mix all the ingredients and together until smooth.
7) Serve hot salmon with this creamy and delicious sauce.

BON APPETIT...

Tomato Blast (Spinach Mushroom Stuffed Baked Egg in Tomato Cups)

These little tomato cups filled with spinach, mushroom and cheese with baked egg on top of it is a real yummy and healthy option for a quick breakfast or lazy evening snacks. I absolutely love the idea of making healthy recipes with easily available ingredients. With its scrumptious looks it also has the goodness of spinach and mushroom. Egg, spinach, mushroom, tomato, and loads of cheese, what else do you need in a dish to make it exquisite!!

Serve:          2

Preparation time:         45 minutes

Ingredients:

Big Tomatoes:               2
Spinach:                        1/4 cup (finely chopped and blanched)
Mushroom:                    4 medium (finely chopped)
Egg:                               2 small
Processed cheese:          2 tablespoon (grated)
Salt and pepper to season
Salad leaves to serve
Oil

Method:

1) Cut the top of the tomato and carefully take out the central seed part of it. It should look like a cup.
2) Heat some oil in a pan and toss blanched and chopped spinach and mushroom. Season it. Toss until cooked and dry.
3) Place the tomato cups in a greased muffin tin to stand straight.
4) Fill in the bottom of the tomato with spinach mushroom mixture. Add 1 tbsp of cheese on to it.
5) Top it up with the egg. Carefully break the egg and separate half of the egg white. Pour the egg yolk in the tomato cup. Oil the tomato top and place it in the muffin tin.
6) Season the egg with salt and pepper.
7) Bake it at 200 degree for 20-25 minutes or until the egg is cooked and done.

8) Serve hot with some salad and dip.

BON APPETIT..

Prawn in a Blanket

Prawns are much lower in calories and fat than chicken yet with much more protein. As well as being high in protein, prawns contain magnesium, which plays a role in bone development and nerve and muscle function; Zinc, which is good for growing bodies, and selenium, an important antioxidant.


Omega 3 oils found in prawns assist in blood circulation by lowering blood fats and preventing blood clot formation. This aids blood circulation and researchers believe it reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. Research also indicates the omega 3 oil acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and so may reduce the risk of a wide range of health problems, including asthma, pulmonary disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease.

With so many benefit and taste let get making this recipe. This recipe can said to be innovation/ variation from spring roll a famous in south asian appetizer.

Makes:                       10

Preparation time:         30 minutes

Ingredients

Large prawns:          10 (head removed, peeled but tail left on
Filo pastry sheet:      10 (thawed if frozen)
Egg:                         1/2 beaten
Green Onion:           2 (chopped)
Red Capsicum:        1 small (finely chopped)
Garlic powder:         1/4 teaspoon
Feta cheese:             50 grams (crumbled)
Salt and pepper to taste
Sunflower oil :           1 tbsp
Sweet chilli dipping sauce to serve

Method
1) Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan. Add chopped onion, capsicum, cook till soft and dry.
2) Add garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 1-2 minutes.
3) Add crumbled feta to the mixture once cold.
4) Spread out four filo pastry sheet on a clean work surface, covering the other with damp cloth.
5) Place the spoon full of stuffing on each sheet near the lower edge. Lay a prawn on top of the stuffing with the tail exposed.
6) Fold each sheet over toward the tail, then brush the edge with the beaten egg and roll up, with prawn tail exposed. Make the remaining roll in the same way and place them on the tray lined with baking parchment.
7) Preheat the oven at 180 degree celsius. Brush the wrapped prawn with some oil and bake for 20-25 minutes until light brown or cooked.

8) Serve hot with a bowl of sweet chilli sauce alongside

BON APPETIT..

Fruity Quark filled "Choco Cookie Basket"

Chocolate Cookies have always been favorites to kids & adults. For this recipe chocolate cookies is made in a form of bowl with a cover and filled with seasonal fruit and quark cheese. This recipe has come out exceptionally well from what I had thought before started making. Filling can be of anything depending on your kid's choice of fruit and cream. Seasonal fruits help them get all the essential nutrients and cream/ cheese provide with the calcium, these are vital for their proper physical and mental development.

There are few handy rules which you should always follow with the kids when feeding them:
1) Keep mealtime as casual fun time.
2) Be a good role model, you yourself should eat all fruits and vegetables.
3) Involve your child while shopping for vegetable and fruits and sometime in preparing of food as well.
4) Offer some healthy choices when appropriate.
5) Serve small portions.
6) Hide some healthy stuff by cutting the vegetables really tiny.
7) Most important praise them for eating everything you served. Job-well-done.

Hope you enjoy making this recipe for your little one and the above rules help you to keep feeding them without much stress.

The recipe can also be used as a light dessert during your lunch / dinner get together.

Serve:                  6

Preparation time:       1 hour

Ingredients:
For Choco Cookie Baskets
All purpose flour:        11/2 cups
Egg:                           1 large
Baking powder:         1 teaspoon
Vanilla essence:         1 teaspoon
Unsalted Butter:        50 grams (room temperature)
Coco powder:           2 tablespoon
Sugar:                       1/2 cup
Salt:                          1/4 teaspoon

For filling
Season fruits:                1 cup (I am using grapes)
Quark cheese:              4 tablespoon (substitute: mascarpone, yogurt, cream cheese)
Vanilla sugar:                2 tablespoon

 Method:

1) Sieve flour, coco, salt, baking powder twice and set aside.
2) Whisk egg, butter, vanilla essence together. Add sugar.
3) Mix all the dry ingredients to make tight dough. Use additional flour if required.

4) Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius.
5) Butter muffin tin upside down as referred in pictures.

6) Roll the dough in a rope and cut it in 12 equal parts.
7) Take one part and press with hand to make a flat disc. Put it on the muffin back and repeat it for rest of 11 dough parts.
8) Try to expand it to the sides of the inverted muffin tin to give it a shape of bowl for 6 of the disc. These will be baked and turned to be a basket bottom to serve the filling. Let the other 6 remain as a flat disc, these will turn to be the cover for the basket. (Refer to the picture)

9) Bake it for 20-25 minutes at 180 degree Celsius until brown and hard.

10) Meanwhile for the filling, mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
11) Once the cookies are baked let it cool for 5 minutes until its easy to handle the muffin tin. Slightly knock the cookies from the tin using a spoon or butter knife. It comes out easily.

12) Fill it with the fruit and cheese mixture and cover it with the cookie lid.

13) Fruity Quark filled "Choco Cookie Basket" is ready to serve.

BON APPETIT...

Tuna Bites and Insalata Caprese Open Sandwich

Feeding a picky eater can be real nightmare for the mothers. Some kids just don't like the look and feel of the food. It may be the smell or the texture of food bothering them. Lastly it could simply be a power struggle  because they really don't want anybody telling what and when to eat. Whatever be the reason mothers are always at the receiving end. And to help all those I am here with few eye pleasing, healthy, quick and minimum ingredients recipes. We will talk about all do's and don'ts of feeding a picky eater all this week. My son is already enjoying these fancy quick meals. These are real simple recipes hence I am sharing both vegetarian and non- vegetarian options for all kind of food habits.

Today we are making:
1) Tuna bites, this is basically a 3 ingredient quick sandwich to suffice your kids hunger and even fathers can make it.
2) Insalata Caprese Sandwich is inspired by a famous and simple Italian salad called Insalata de Caprese. It's again a 4 basic ingredient quick recipe.

Both these recipes can also be used as an antipasto/ starter for a full meal menu.

Tuna Bites

Serve:           2 (makes 10 mini bites)
Preparation time:             10 minutes

Ingredients:
Cucumber:                20 slices
Tuna fillet:                 50 grams (canned)
Mayonnaise:             2 tablespoon
Cherry tomato:         cut in half to garnish (optional)

Method:
1) Mix the shredded tuna fillet and mayonnaise in a small bowl.
2) Put the mixture in the center of 10 cucumber slices
3) Cover with rest of the slices and press gently.
4) Garish it with cut cherry tomato and serve cold.

Insalata Caprese Open Sandwich

Serve:          2 (makes 6 sandwiches)
Preparation time:     10 minutes

Ingredients
Buffalo Mozzarella:           6 thick slices
Big Ripen Tomato:            6 thick slices
Bread slices:                     3 large (multigrain)
Basil leaves to garnish
Pesto sauce
Olive oil, salt and pepper

Method:
1) Roll the bread using a rolling pin to flatten it a bit. Cut a circle or the desired shape using a cookie cutter. Make 6 such shapes.
2) Place the sliced mozzarella over it.
3) Spread some pesto sauce over the mozzarella, drizzle it with olive oil, salt and pepper.
4) Top it up with tomato.
5) Garnish it with fresh basil leaves.

BON APPETIT..

Jewish Challah Bread ( Six Strand Braided)

"Challah" is a special Jewish braided bread eaten on Sabbath and holidays. It is also named khale, berches, barkis, bergis etc. According to Jewish tradition, the three Sabbath meals (Friday night, Saturday lunch, and Saturday late afternoon) and two holiday meals (one at night and lunch the following day) each begin with two complete loaves of bread. Each single loaf is woven with six strands. Together, both loaves have twelve which represent each tribe of Israel.

Traditional Challah recipes use numerous eggs, fine white flour, water, yeast, and sugar. Modern recipes may use fewer eggs (there is also an egg less versions) and may replace white flour with whole wheat, or oat. Sometimes honey or molasses is substituted as a sweetener. The dough is rolled into rope-shaped pieces which are braided and brushed with an egg wash before baking to add a golden sheen. Sometimes raisins are added. Some bakers like to sprinkle sesame or poppy seeds on top for flavor.

Serve:          6 to 8

Preparation time:          4 hrs (Including raise and baking)

Ingredients:

All purpose flour:                   3 1/2 cup
Warm water:                         1 1/4 cup
Active dry yeast:                   2 tablespoon
Sugar:                                   1/3 cup
Egg:                                      4 small
Vegetable oil:                        1/4 cup
Salt:                                      1 teaspoon
Sesame seed:                        1 tablespoon (optional)
Raisin and walnut:                  1/2 cup (optional)


Method:

1) Add 1/4 cup on flour, warm water, 1 tsp sugar and yeast in a large bowl. Let it stand for 15 minutes until yeast become active.
2) Whisk together sugar, 3 eggs, salt and oil to the bowl.
3) Add in the remaining flour, one cup at a time kneading it in. Knead for about 5 minutes until smooth. You can add more flour if the dough is sticky.
4) Cover the dough with a cling film and let it rise at a warm place for about 1 and half hour.

5) Punch the dough down and transfer it to a lightly floured surface.
6) Knead for about 5 minutes. You can add raisin and walnut here to the dough. It definitely adds flavours to the bread.

7) Divide it into six equal part and roll to make long strands approximately 9 inch long. You can make three or four strand bread as well.

 8) Braid the rope together and pinch the ends. (Got a nice pictorial tutorial on web. You can also find lots of video online.)

 9) Put the braided bread on the baking tray and cover it with a kitchen towel. Let it rise again for about 45 minutes to an hour in a warm place.
10) Preheat the oven at 190 degree Celsius

11) Beat the remaining egg and brush it over the bread. Sprinkle some sesame seeds over the bread.

12) Bake the bread till golden brown about 30-35 minutes. Cover the top with a sliver foil if its browning too fast.

 13) You can enjoy this little sweet bread in you morning breakfast as a French toast with some honey.

BON APPETIT..

Cinnamon Rose Bread

Nothing can be more fun to make Rose Bread on Rose day... what a coincidence!!! I was planning to bake breads from long, so all this week and coming week I am blogging and posting about few of the interesting hand crafted Artisan bread. Someone well said- "All sorrows are less with bread"- I am so happy and excited baking bread all this week. About today's recipe, I am not sure about its origin but first saw it on a blogger group and bookmarked it. This is filled, rolled and braided bread. You can also call it Russian Braid, Caucasian Bread or I would love calling it turban bread. Whatever you name it, this bread is as tasty to eat as it looks. I used the cinnamon butter filling, but there are so many variations using other ingredients like pesto, nutella, chocolate or fruit filling. Shaping the bread is most technical part of this recipe; I am trying to show step by step photo instruction to make it easy for you. Hope you enjoy making it as much as I did.

Serve:            6-8

Preparation time:         3 hrs ( Including baking and dough rising )

Ingredients:


Dough
All-purpose flour:                    4 cups
Egg:                                        1
Dry active yeast:                      2 teaspoon
Sugar:                                     2 teaspoon
Salt:                                        1 teaspoon
Oil:                                         1/4 cup+ 1 Tbs
White vinegar:                         1 tablespoon
Warm water:                           1 cup

Filling
Butter:                                     4 tablespoon (softened)
Palm sugar:                              1/2 cup
Cinnamon powder:                  2 teaspoon

Method:

1) Grease the bottom and side of 10" spring form pan. You can use any round cake pan but spring form helps better in the bread formation.
2) Add flour, egg, yeast, sugar, salt and 1/4 cup oil in a bowl and mix until well.

3) Add vinegar to warm water, stir, then add to the other ingredients.
4) We can use a food processor to make a elastic dough which is not sticky. I am using hand to do so, mix all ingredient above and bring it together.
5) Put it on a floured surface and stretch the dough fold it to half and turn 90 degrees. Repeat the process to make it into a elastic but not sticky dough. Use your hand in circular motion to make it round.
6) Place 1 Tbs oil in a bowl, place the dough in the bowl and ensure it is well coated with oil. Cover it with a cling film and let it rise for 1 hour in a warm place.

7) It will nearly double in an hour.

8) On a lightly floured surface, carefully roll dough into a large rectangle, about 12" x 24"
9) Brush the butter over the entire dough.

10) For Filling combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
11) Sprinkle all the sugar evenly over the buttered surface.
12) Roll it gently from the longer side of the rectangle

13) Close the end tight. and cut it lengthwise using a sharp knife.

14) Gently flip the roll to the open side so that layers are facing up.

 15) Put one half of the roll over the other forming X shape

 16) Carefully cross the ropes over each other facing the open side up. Pinch the ends together.

17) Roll the long braid in a circle. Tuck the end of the rope into the wreath.
18)  Place it carefully on the bottom of the spring form pan. Cover it with a cling film or kitchen towel to rise for 30 minutes.

19) Meanwhile preheat the oven at 200 degree Celsius.

 20) Bake it at 200 degree for 10 minutes and the reduce the temperature to 190 degree celcius and bake for another 30 minutes.

 21) Remove the bread to a wire rack and let it cool for before serving.

 22) Enjoy this yummy looking bread with your friends and family.

BON APPETIT..

Stir-Fry Chicken With Cashew Nuts

A favourite combination of sweet, almost creamy, cashews roasted to bring out  their nuttiness and stir fried with the tenderest chicken breasts. Subtly flavored with fish and oyster sauce with just a hint of garlic make this recipe stand out among other stir fries.

"Gai Pad Mamaung Himmaparan" is it's Thai name.

Adapted from  Easy Thai Cookbook By Sallie Morris

Serves:        4

Preparation time:            25 minutes

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts:                 2 (225 grams each) sliced into strips
Garlic:                                2 cloves (crushed)
Onion:                                1 finely sliced
Cashew nuts:                      1/3 cup roasted
Fish Sauce:                         3 tablespoon
Oyster Sauce:                     1 tablespoon
Spring Onion:                     4 (cut into short length)
Salt to taste
Black Pepper (freshly grounded)
Sunflower oil:                      3 tablespoon

Method:
1) Dry roast the cashew and assemble all the other ingredients.
2) Heat some oil in a wok, toss chicken and garlic. Stir fry until the chicken piece are tender and golden.
3) Add all the other ingredient and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Check the seasoning
6) Serve hot as a side dish or starter.

BON APPETIT..