X'Mas Goodie Bag-Part II

Ok, this and a couple of other posts were scheduled to be posted on blogger which for some reason decided to stay unpublished. This post was the intended Part II of the Xmas Goodie Bag. I was on a commission that required all my attention, hence the trust on blogger scheduler. Now since the dates that these had to be posted have all gone haywire, I have to manually do them one by one!!! Sigh!!!!

The goodie bag that I sent out had a 4" banana cake accompanying the cinnamon cookies. This is a tried, tested and a much appreciated cake, the reason why it earned a place in the goodie bag. The recipe is originally for a banana bread, and since I baked it in a cake pan, I prefer to call it a cake (duh!!!). The batter is on the thicker side and the crust has a lovely colour to it after it is baked. The best part of making this is you don't need to use a mixer, which means lesser washing to do...and not very "Banany" like my neice put it across.

The recipe for the above is as per this. Since the results have always been fantastic, I have never felt the need to substitute any ingredient, except for reducing the amount of bananas used. Most banana bread recipes that I made were either too sweet or had an overpowering taste of banana. This recipe yields a soft, crumbly texture with a mild flavor of banana, very mildly sweet and just right!

That rounds up my goodie bag and A very proseprous New Year to all my readers out there!!!

X'Mas Goodie Bag-Part I

Am back to baking, the first of my baking goods being these batches of cookies specially made to share with friends and family. Whenever I want to bake a cookie, either this or this has always been my reference. I have been baking only for a couple of years now and it is during the christmas season that I long to share a bag of edible goodies with friends and family. These cookies are a part of the several goodies. Other goodies follow soon in this blog.

So like I said, the inspiration for this was The Food Hunter. Cinnamon being a favourite spice, this was the choice. It is a simple recipe with a delicious result. Since my 4 year old daughter's school just closed for X'mas vacations, I sent her off to my mum's place....So with the DH at work and having the entrie kitchen to myself with no interruptions was all that I needed to bake these and the rest. I only wished I had more company to share the cinnamony aroma that filled the house... I followed the exact recipe, the only exception being I chilled the dough and then rolled it out and then cut them out into perfect circles. Theses were baked and then sprinkled with powdered sugar.

These were chewy on the inside, crispier on the outside. Not being overtly sweet was its advantage and this is going to my collection of cookie recipes.Similar to these snickerdoodles I had made, these are the perfect spice and sugar cookies and ofcourse ideal to be gifted.

This cookies are off to the Eat Christmas Cookies Event.

Seasons greetings to all my readers and their family!!!

An experiment with my favourite cheese......

Paneer/cottage cheese is popular at home and luckily for me, when I follow no specific recipe while using paneer, I always end up with good results. I seldom make Paneer at home and I have this habit of picking up a packet of paneer on every visit to the store inspite of it already being there at home..

This paneer recipe has no specific measurements. I just added the sauces etc. to suit my visual judgement and it worked.

What you need are:
Paneer-cut into small pieces
Marinade
salt
white pepper powder
cornflour
AP Flour
egg

Beat the egg and add the remaining marinade ings and stir until there are no lumps. marinate the paneer atleast for an hour.

Deep fry the paneer. Drop the paneer one by one otherwise you are sure to end up with chunks stuck together. A little patience is needed here for you to dig out each piece and drop them in the oil. Remove them when they turn a slight golden brown. Remove and drain the excess oil.

For the stir fry
Bell pepper-chopped
Tomato Sauce
Chilli Sauce
Soya Sauce
Vinegar-optional

Saute the bell pepper ina little oil. Ensure that its crispiness is not lost. Add the sauces and the add the fried paneer. Serve this hot.

A crunchy outer coat with a tender paneer inside and the flavours of each sauce linger in your mouth.

AFAM:Cherry Roundup and the lucky winner!!!

It is way beyond the time that I planned to do the the roundup for AFAM: Cherry. Better late than never applies here!

With concerns from fellow bloggers on where to find cherries at this time of the year, I expected a poor turnaround. However, entries started trickling in by the end of the month, each unique and lovely in their own way. I am thankful to every one of yo who sent in the following gorgeous entries. I did mention I have a surprise that awaits an entry. So scroll down to see who wins the handmade 4-piece kitchen couture.

So here are the entries in a randomn order.

Simran's Cherry Muffins

Priya's Eggless Chocolate Cherry Muffins

Uma's Salubrious Smoothie

Tina's Cherry Tassies

Divya's Cherry Biscuits

Raaga's Cherry Pancakes

Sweatha's Cherry Biscotti

Yasmeen's Healthy Cherry Nut Crescents

Nicole's Cherry Cornmeal Cobbler

Mansi's Cherry Almond Spice Scones

Happy Cook's Cherry & Marzipan Cake

Ten Cherry Recipes by Ramki

Priya's Cherry Clafoutis

Lakshmi's Black Forest Cake

Lubna's Cocoa Cherry Cake

And finally, my Cherry Pudding.




And drum rolls please for the lucky winner of the surprise gift..

The Singing Chef

Note: The winner do mail me your address at tangerineskitchen(at)gmail(dot)com. The sooner the better!

If I have missed out any entry, do let me know and I will include them in the roundup.

And yes, do hop over to dear Siri's place for AFAM: December. Psst! Heard it is a precious fruit!

Sandwiches for my Mad Tea Party

Alice in Wonderland was the book chosen for this month for the This Book Makes me Cook Event. Another favourite of mine right from my childhood days. This was one book that i was particular my Mom read it to me very often during my childhood days. At one point of time I even wanted to tumble down into a rabbit hole just like Alice did just to experience what she did. Blame it on childhood fantasies.

The mad hatter's Tea Party is my inspiration for making these sandwiches. My girl friends and I meet for tea accompanied by our children atleast once a month. Inspite of our frequent calls and mails and messages, we still have a lot to chatter when we meet for tea. However, most times it is complete nonsense. For one such mad tea party, I made the follwoing sandwiches with varied fillings.

A green chutney filling, capsicum and egg filling, tomato filling and chicken and mayo filling.

Green chutney

Grated Coconut-1 cup

Ginger/Garlic Paste-2 Tbsp

Green Chillies-3 to 4

Coriander Leaves- a bunch

Grind the above and season with salt. Spread butter on the bread slices and add the filling.

Capsicum and Egg Filling

Eggs-2 boiled and grated

Capsicum-1 medium sized, chopped

Mayonnaise-1/2 cup

Mix the above. Season and use.

Tomato Filling

Tomatoes-2 minced

Onions-1 minced

Mustard powder-1/2 tsp

Saute onions and tomatoes in oil.Add the mustard powder and season with salt and pepper. Remember to saute tomatoes until the moisture evaporates. Cool and use.

Grilled Chicken and Mayo Sandwiches

Boiled Chicken-1 cup shredded
Mayonnaise-1/2 Cup
Capsicum-1/2 cup
chopped

Carrot-1/2 cup boiled

Mix them together and season with salt and pepper. Spread them on the slices and grill them.

There you go, easy, zesty fillings for sandwiches that honoured my mad tea party.

Cherries in my Pudding

Been a while since i got down to doing a post..Other interests have taken the upperhand...

A and I have been wanting to please ourself with a pudding that was rich, sweet and creamy. Since AFAM is being hosted this month here, a pudding with cherries was decided upon.

This pudding has no eggs but does have cornstarch to thicken it.I have never liked eggs in my pudding because of the eggy taste that is quite overpowering in most puddings...This is an experimentation and I must say it result was a delicate, light and great tasting pudding.

This pudding is three layered with a biscuit base as the bottom layer. The second layer is the creamiest. The top layer has the crowning glory, the cherries.So here's what I used. The following is my measurement as per my taste and feel of each layer. So feel free to experiment.

Bottom Layer:

Biscuits-about 20 (enough to line the base of the pudding dish that is being used. I used Marie biscuits.)
Butter-30g

Powder the biscuits and mix them using the butter. Pack the bottom of the dish with the biscuit layer. Press them down tightly.

Middle Layer

Gelatine-20g
Water-1 cup
Icecream-500g (Vanilla was used here)
Yoghurt-1 cup
Sugar-3 tbsp (do a taste test to add as per your taste)

Heat the water to dissolve the gelatine.
Mix the youghurt, sugar and the gelatine and add them into the icecream.
Heat the above using the double boiler method until it forms a smooth and creamy liquid. Pour this over the biscuit layer.

Top Layer

1 cup of pureed pitted cherries
Cornflour-1tbsp
Sugar-3 tbsp
Lemon Juice-1 tsp

Mix the above with 1/4 cup of water and heat until you get a smooth liquid. Pour this over the creamy layer.

I expected this layer to stay above. Instead it sank but when I cut it to serve the pink layer had taken the place of the creamy layer..as you see in the first picture of the served pudding.

Chill the pudding before you serve.

This pudding is my entry to AFAM:Cherry being hosted here this month. So for all of you who haven't yet sent entries..it is time to get thinking cherry. And yes, there is a surprise awaiting an entry for AFAM.

Since this experimentation resulted ina sweet something, this is also to celebrate a dear friend's anniversary celebration of her lovely blog.

A solution to my craving for chocolate cake

For me, a microwave was always to heat food until I made this. With a non-working oven, baking anything has been out of the question...I am yet to narrow down on an oven but just can't seem to resist the temptation to make a cake.Hence this microwave cake.

This recipe is adapted from the Book of Indian Microwave Cooking.

Beat 3 eggs until light and fluffy.

Soften 200g of Butter at 100% power for 2 minutes. Add this into the beaten eggs.Add in 3/4 tsp of vanilla essence as well.

Add 200g of Sugar to the above mixture and blend them in well.

Mix 30 g of Cocoapowder with 200g flour and fold this gradually into the egg mixture.

Add 1 tbsp of orange juice. You ould also add milk instead.

Line a microwave safe dish with brown paper and grease and flour them well. Pour in the cake batter and microwave at 100% power for 5 minutes.Let it remain for a further 5 minutes and then check if it is cooked.

The chocolate ganache was made in the microwave as well as per this.

I poured this over my cake and let it flow for the natural look.


I was sceptical at first about how moist the cake would be compared to an oven-baked one..There wasn't much of a difference. This recipe is a keeper and it definitely satisfied my craving for a homemade chocolate cake.

A Raw Mango Pickle

Pickles are a necessity at my place. For me, a meal is incomplete without a pickle. Though store-bought pickles do find a place, this is a pickle that I make very often owing to the fast pace at which these get devoured. I am yet to find a store-bought pickle that could surpass the taste of a homemade one.

This pickle makes use of raw mangoes. Except for the chopping into small pieces, this is an easy pickle to make. This recipe was handed down to me from my mother.It can perk up any meal like for instance it perks up my sandwhich, rice, dosas, etc..

And so, what you need for this pickle are:

Raw Mango-2 cut into small pieces
Red Chilli Powder-1tbsp
Turmeric Powder-1 tsp
Fenugreek powder-1tsp
Asafoetida-1 tsp
Mustard Seeds-1tsp
Oil-2 Tbsps
Curry Leaves-A sprig

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustards seeds and when they crackle, add in the curry
leaves. Then add in the remaining ingredients except the cut mangoes. Cook this
for a few minutes and cool. Pour this over the cut mango and stir them in well
until the pieces are coated well...Bottle them and you have a sour,spicy and
salty pickle ready.

And I hope that AFAM, Cherry is still in your thoughts because I it's been some time since an entry came in.

Kheema-The True Taste of India

I just realized I haven't been doing justice to traditional Indian cookery blogwise. For me the greatness of the Indian cuisine lies in the wider range owing to different regions.

This dish of Kheema depicts the true taste of India. A recipe from my first ever cookbook, Madhur Jaffrey's The Essential.This is the first non-veg dish that I made once I had to handle things on my own in the itchen. It's been six years and this is a recipe that I can vouch for any beginner.

What you need are:

1 Onion, peeled, chopped
3 cloves of garlic,chopped
1" piece of ginger
1" Cinnamon Stick
2 whole cloves
2 or 3 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1tbsp corainder powder
1 tsp cumin powdeer
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 large tomato, chopped
salt as per your taste
1 tsp lemon juice
500g minced lamb

Grind onions,garlic and ginger to a smooth paste.
Heat oil ina pan. Add in the whole spices. Ensure that they do not burn. Follwo this by adding in the ground paste. This tends to stick ot the pan, so add a drop of water, not more. Add in the powders followed by the tomatoes. Fry this until the oil separates and add the meat and salt. Turn the heat to a high and fry to a rich brown colour.Add about 1 cup of water and the lemon juice and after a single boil,let it simmer for atleast an hour.

The longer you simmer, the flavour is enhanced.You could also add in peas or mushrooms.

This is easily my favourite and could be yours too when you try it!

A Roasted Corn Salsa

Last week, i woke up to a non-functioning oven. Tried all my luck and prayers to get it to work. Even gave it a hard kick but to no avail. The specialists came in to take a look at it and announced my oven dead because the oven board isn't available anymore. Sigh!!! Done my rounds at getting a new one but nothing matches my old friend who has seen me through my baking escapades.

No more baking for me until I find a new one that I am fully satisfied with. I feel like a fish out of water..that is how a friend put it....

That apart, I made a roasted corn salsa . The salsa isn't just corn but also mushrooms and bell peppers.

What you need are for the salsa are;

2 cobs of corn
1 cup of chopped mushrooms
2 red bell peppers, roasted,
deseeded and choppped
1/4 cup of pickled jalapenos chopped finely
juice
of 1 lemon
Grated zest of 1/2 a lemon
2 tbsps of olive oil
salt
pepper

Grill the corn until they turn golden.Cut the top of each ear of the corn and let it stand on the cut side. Cut away the kernels using a sharp knife.

Saute the mushrooms and bell peppers and season with salt and pepper.

Add the remaining ingredients to the kernels in a large bowl ad mix them well. Add in the mushrooms and bell pepper.

Refrigerate ensuring it is covered well. Garnish with cilantro.

This salsa is colourful, refreshing and very tasty. This salsa stands out for its simplicity...it is equally good on its own and also is very light on the stomach.

Do think cherries and send in your entries for AFAM. The details are on the right hand side of the blog.

MBP:Tantalizing Sauces Roundup

First of all, a big thank you to all of you who sent in saucy entries. Each entry has been unique and presented really well.. So here goes the entries in alphabetical order...

Amy from Tart Reform made a tomato and red wine sauce from here. Pasta shells topped with this sauce served a dinner in under 20 mintues and Amy they are definitely photogenic!

Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen made two dessert sauces presented very artistically. A favourite of hers, the chocolate sauce was made from here and the second, a butterscotch sauce (a favourite of her husband's and daughter's and mine too) was made from here.

Cham of Spice Club served her pasta with a chilli,bellpepper and peanut sauce from here. In Cham's words, a sweet, savory, nutty and a spicy sauce!

Divya made a flavourful apple sauce from here. She likes it chunky and I like it smooth.....

Another tomato sauce made by Lakshmi of Kitchen Chronicles from here makes the use of a technique of infusing flavour of the spices into the sauce..head over to her place to read about it.

Priya of Easy N Tasty Recipes churned up a Bechamel Sauce from here. A sauce that serves as a versatile base for several other sauces.




Yet another sauce by Priya. This yummy roasted apple sauce from here according to Priya has a wonderful taste and texture.

Priya of Easy N Tasty third entry for this event. She made a pizza sauce from here and was glad to have found a replacement for store-bought sauces.

PG of My Kitchen Stories, someone I envy for her bounty of tomatoes from her garden, made a tomato sauce from here. She's glad she made this and I am not surprised!

Rachael found graffiti eggplants at the store and put it to use in making an eggplant sauce that she had been wanting to make from here. Read about the changes she made to the amazing sauce here. I made this sauce and I have never enjoyed the taste of eggplant as this before.

Sra of When my Soup Came Alive made a Tofu Mayo from here. Do read what led to the making of the tofu mayo.

Sweatha of TastyCurryLeaf's Classic Caramel Sauce inspired from here claims it be an easy and a wonderful recipe. I love her minimal presentation.







Usha of My Spicy Kitchen made a mushroom and almond sauce infused gravy from here. This is a tried,tested and relished recipe for me.




And finally an apple sauce made by me from here.

I hope I have covered all the entries. If I have left out any, do leave a comment....

Announcing AFAM-November 2008

A Fruit A Month is an event that was started by Maheshwari and I am glad to be hosting it for the month of November, 2008.

The fruit chosen for the month is Cherry.

A cherry is a tiny fruit that contains a single seed similar to a plum, peach and the like. Apart from being used in culinary, they also serve medicinal purposes. They are an easily perishable fruit and need to be handled with care. A meal to a dessert can be prepared from these fruits.

So whether they are sweet or sour, black or red, prepare a culinary wonder using them for this event and blog about it.

Rules for the event

1. Prepare a recipe using cherry as the dominating ingredient and post about it on your blog.

2. Non-veg/Veg recipes are allowed.

3.While doing the post, make sure to link back to Maheshwari's blog and this event announcement. Use of the logo is optional.

4.Mail the following details to tangerineskitchen(at)gmail(dot)com with the subject line reading AFAM:Cherry

Your name
Your blog name
Name of the entry
URL of your
post
A photo that is 300 pixels wide

4. Not owning a blog isn't an excuse for you not sending in entries. You can always mail me the above-said details and they will be included in the roundup as well!

5. Older posts with cherry can be included if it is republished as a new post.

6. The last date for sending in entries is December 2, 2008.

So start thinking cherries as well and awaiting a flood of entries and thank you Maheshwari for letting me host the event.

Update: preserved,dried,sugared cherries are permitted.

On another note, do vote for my cheese scones over here if you think it deserves the surprise gift in store.

Pizza Napoletana for the Daring Bakers..

It is that time of the month when daring bakers from around their world post their stint this month with pizzas...I make pizzas at home quite often but always used store-bought pizza bases. This challenge put forth by Rosa the host for this month is “Pizza Napoletana” from Peter Reinhart's “The Bread Baker's Apprentice”.

I made three pizzas, 5" each. I tried tossing the dough but ended up tearing them and so resorted to flattening them using my fingers.

Each pizza was different in their toppings.I made two sauces, a tomato sauce and a peanut butter tomato sauce. Though the latter was an experimentation, it won the vote at home.

Pizza Sauce:

Blanch 6 tomatoes. SKin, dessed and chop them and grind to a paste. Boil this paste with 1 tbsp of chilli powder, 1 1/2 tbsp of ginger/garlic paste, 2tsps of sugar, and two pieces of cinnamon.

Tomato-Peanut Sauce:

To the above 1 cup of tomato sauce, add 2tbsp of peanut butter and 1 tsp of soya sauce. Bring this to a boil until you get the required consistency.

The following pizzas were relished...

1. Mushroom/Celery/Sesame Seeds Pizza with peanutbutter-Tomato Sauce

Sesame seeds, garlic and mushrooms were sauteed in oil. Chopped celery, capsicums and soya sauce followed. The sauce used was the Peanutbutter-Tomato sauce.


2. Tandoori Paneer/Capsicum Pizza

Cubed paneer were marinated ina paste that conatined yoghurt, ginger/garlic paste, chilli powder and salt for a couple of hours. The tomato pizza sauce was used on the base followed by a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese. Paneer, capsicum were then layered and mozzarella cheese were sprinkled further and this was baked.



3. Corn/Minced Meat Pizza

The tomato pizza sauce was used here. The minced meat was boiled with salt and pepper and this along with boiled sweet corn topped the base. Mozzarella was added and was baked for a yummy treat.


Verdict:
I still prefer my readymade pizza bases owing to my laziness I guess..

I personally enjoyed the making, failed tossing and eating it.

The peanutbutter-tomato sauced pizza was the most preferred by all who got to taste it. So did I owing probably to the other flavours being used to the palate... The kids loved the corn and the meat...

Ultimately a fun challenge.....