MEDITERRANEAN ORANGE SALAD (with video!)

If you are here just for the recipe, please scroll down. If not,let me tell you how much I hated eating a salad before 2010. The very idea about eating a salad would turn me off and that was even before I tasted a real salad. When I say a 'real' salad, I mean the ones which are purely good for you, not loaded with mayo types. I mean, the ones where you have lots of greens that have been tossed with some fruit/nuts, protein & a straightforward dressing.

I remember Jobin trying to convince me to eat them but I would just refuse to do so until I tasted some fantastic salad made by our good friends Mike & Becky here in Minneapolis. Then slowly, I started enjoying them and now, I even make it at home! We Indians are so focused about cooking our greens that eating them raw can be...umm...not that pleasant to even think of. All I can say is that I am a convert now and I am sure most of you who enjoy salads can kind of agree with me that it's all about trying!

This salad is very good for you. It's filled to the brim with fruits and is topped with the most amazing salad dressing ever! It's one of the best and refreshing things that I've ever eaten. Every time I've made the salad using this recipe,our serving plate literally would be licked clean! You should really give this a shot at home. If you don't have access to orange blossom water,leave it out. It just adds that beautiful Mediterranean edible fragrance to your salad, just like rose water does.

MEDITERRANEAN ORANGE SALAD

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onions
15 mint leaves,chopped
6 Navel oranges, peeled, sliced into rounds
Pinch salt
Pinch paprika
Pinch ground cinnamon
Seeds (Arils) of 1 pomegranate

Dressing:
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water,optional but highly recommended

Method: Please see the video for the full instructions.

As always, thanks for supporting our Youtube channel like never before! I am thoroughly enjoying looking at all the photographs you've been sending me of the beautiful things you've been making with the recipes from my blog/videos! Keep them coming! This is the most wonderful time of the year and I hope you all are planning out a great spread for your Christmas party!

MALAYSIAN CURRY PUFFS (with video!)

Did you know that I have a Malaysian connection? Appa and his siblings grew up in Malaysia till he was about 8 years old. My Grandfather was working there before they moved and settled in Kannur. Mamma,my paternal Grandmother who was an awesome cook learnt a lot of dishes from her cook there and Mamma would cook those dishes for us every now and then. Nasi Lemak was a staple in our home. She would try out so many Asian recipes from her cookbook and would call us over for dinner. I fondly remember how Mamma would make ' Vella chorum Kozhiyum' / Steamed Rice & Chicken for us (which everybody adored!) and I would refuse to eat it because there would a lot of vegetables in the chicken dish. I was never up for eating vegetables as a child.

I would then go and lay down on her bed,with the bedroom door wide open and look at everyone sitting by that big 12 seater dining table enjoy the meal Mamma lovingly made for us. I must mention that I was laying down on her bed and sulking! I can still picturize that dining room and those dim lantern lights hanging low over the table giving it such a cozy feel serving the food I never enjoyed and couldn't ever enjoy as a child.

Things have changed so much! I wholeheartedly enjoy vegetables now and that 'Vella Chorum Kozhiyum' is one of my most favourite things to eat!

Whenever we bought puffs from a bakery, Appan would mention about a 'Curry Puffs' that they relished in Malaysia. I remember Mamma calling the usual bakery puffs as Curry Puffs,maybe with her fond memories from her past. I also remember Appan telling me that it looked different and was flaky with a delicious filling inside. Those were the days when there was no internet. But that name stuck with me for all these years.

One day, I just decided to do a quick search online and came across so many beautiful photograhs of it! They were so easy to make but looked intricate. I used this recipe for the shell and came up with a filling on my own. I decided to give the puffs a try and there was no looking back. They are phenomenal! It is honestly one of the best things I've made in the recent times and something that I don't mind making over and over again!

MALAYSIAN CURRY PUFFS
Makes 18-20 pieces

Ingredients:
Pastry shell
Oil dough
300 grams flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil
3/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon warm water

Butter dough
150 grams flour
70 grams butter,room temperature

Filling
2 cups potatoes,diced (I used 2 large potatoes)
1/2 cup onions,diced
3 cloves garlic,grated
1 1/2 tablespoons Curry Powder ( You can use any storebought chicken/meat masala)
2 tablespoons Oyster sauce,optional ( I use Pantai brand)
3 tablespoons oil
Salt as needed

Method:
Please refer the video for the pastry shell directions. Once the dough is made,cover and let it rest for 30 mins. This helps in relaxing the gluten in the flour .While rolling out, don't roll them too thin,the layers will become one and you will not get the flakiness.

Filling: Heat oil in a saute pan on medium-high heat and saute onions until translucent,about 2 minutes.Add the grated garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Reduce the heat and add the curry powder. The mix might look dry,it's okay. Add the potatoes and toss well to coat with the spices. Add about a cup of water and cook it covered until the potatoes are soft. Add more water if needed. Once it's cooked, add the oyster sauce and cook for another minute. Mash it gently while it's cooking. Check for salt. Some brands of sauces are very salty, so don't add too much salt in the beginning. Wait for the filling to cool completely before you fill the shells.

When I shared it on Instagram, Appan commented saying they looked much better than the ones he remember from Malaysia. Jobin LOVES it and so does the kids! Ian eats 4 at a time and Zara almost 2. I am not even going to tell you how many I ate! :-) They are wonderful and I hope you give them a try.

A YOUTUBE CHANNEL & A LAZY DAISY CAKE

Yes, people! I have finally decided to start my own Youtube Channel! Today is a BIG day for me as I am stepping forward to explore a world unknown. And guess what? I will need your support just like the way you have supported this blog of mine for the past 9 years. Jobin helped me shoot and edit the video and we both are just beginning to figure out how this whole thing works! So please bear with me.

This cake is OMG good! It is one of the best cakes that I've baked and it's literally to die for in taste and texture. That coconut topping will leave you wanting for more! This recipe is from KAF. So please do me a favour...watch the video, grab the recipe and bake that cake! Don't forget to share it with your loves ones...the cake and my channel! If you like what you see,don't forget to hit the subscribe button! There's plenty more to come!

LAZY DAISY CAKE
Makes one 8 inch square cake

Ingredients:
Cake
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all purpose flour /maida
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tablespoon butter

Topping
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 cup sweetened coconut (watch the video for substitutions )

Method: Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Line an 8" square or 9"round tin.

Cake: In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs until frothy,the add the sugar,beating at high speed until the mixture is thick and lemon coloured. Stir in flour,baking powder and salt.
In a saucepan,heat the milk and butter together to boiling. Add to the ingredients in bowl and beat to combine. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 25- 30 mins or until the top is springy to touch.Let it cool on a rack for 5-10 mins.

Turn on the broiler in the oven.

Topping: Mix all the ingredients together in saucepan and cook on medium-high heat till the butter melts. Spread it over the cake and broil for 2-3 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and bubbling.
Enjoy!

You will love this cake! This one barely lasts for 5 hours in our house. It's super addictive! Don't forget to watch the video to grab some tips for substitutions! This cake lasts really well and stays very moist and tender at room temperature for a good 4-5 days.

BIRTHDAY UPDATES !

So here I am,almost 2.5 months after my last post. Where did I go? I was right here,still cooking and taking photos and literally living every minute on my Instagram account. So all of you who miss reading the updates/ recipes here,head on over to Instagram and click 'follow'! It's been really really busy all these weeks with the house shifting, house parties and travel. I could really squeeze in time to come and post recipes here but I chose not to. To keep my sanity in check. This week,there's nothing much going on for me, so that's how I finally reached here!

This is going to be a short post and I am going to share a few pictures from Ian's 5th birthday (July 22) & Zara's 1st birthday (September 16). They both were 100% homemade parties. Ian's party was barely a week before we moved and Zara's was about a month and a half after we moved. Her party was our deadline to set up our new home. Since we moved in from a single bedroom condominium to a 5 bedroom house, we had TONS to do. We are still shopping for stuff and I have no idea when this will end :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy their party photos!

Also in the meantime,this blog baby of mine turned 9 years old on October 8th. To be honest, that totally skipped my mind since I was busy with other things.But. There's something new brewing up and I will be making an announcement here this week! If you scroll through my Instagram profile, you can find that out! :-)

Ian's 5th Birthday Party Menu

Paw Patrol themed Chocolate Layer Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

Greek Chicken Wings

7 layer Greek Dip with Pita Chips

Mint & Orange Salad with Orange Blossom & Honey Dressing

Chicken Shawarma

Homemade Grilled Flatbread

Paneer Mousakka

Chipotle Hummus 

Garlic Sauce

Gooseberry - Mint Soda

Zara's 1st Birthday Party Menu

Floral Vanilla Layer Cake
Brigadieros
Chocolate drizzled Shortbread Cookies
Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
Petite Floral Vanilla Cupcakes

Firecracker Chicken Meatballs

Maharaja

Caramelized Onion Dip

Curried Chicken Dip

Sanna's

Kashmiri Chicken

Ghee Rice

Egg stew

Pork Vindaloo

Gooseberry -Mint Soda (on repeat due to demand!)

Carrot Lemonade

A VERY BIG DAY!

There was a time in my life where I dreamt about being a Chef, a Pastry Chef to be precise. I LOVED making & eating desserts so I dreamt about turning that into a career. Along the way, things happened and I ended up being a Textile Merchandiser. No matter how many years skipped by, that dream was still alive deep down inside me. I collected (still collecting) many recipes thinking about a future in that direction. If any of you get hold of my navy blue diary,where I started writing down my first set of recipes,you will immediately notice that it contains more sweet recipes than savoury. That diary of mine is falling apart now as it had been used well not just by me but my family as well. A cousin of mine took a photocopy of the entire book! :-)

So, coming back to the point. Along the way, I realised that I should just chase my dream,make it a reality and live it or else I might just think and dream about it till the day I die. Seriously, none of this would have happened without Jobin's mental, physical and financial (of course!!) support. I was chosen as the Student Speaker for the commencement ceremony from the entire Baking & Patisserie batch,which I think was really really cool and the red and yellow cords around my neck in the photographs indicates that I have a 4.0 GPA and that I am on the President's list. I am so thrilled that Appan & Amma were here with me for my very first day & for my very last day at Le Cordon Bleu.

I am on a break right now and will be spending a lot of quality time with Ian & Zara and we will be travelling to Kannur in the coming week. We will be home for quite a bit and won't be back to Minneapolis until Spring.So, keep an eye out on this space. I will be hosting baking classes,like every other time when I am in Kannur. Details will be posted here once it has been finalised. The classes will be held in my home in Kannur (Kerala).

MEET BABY ZARA!

Meet our new love, Baby Zara born on 16 September 2016.
Ian is in love with his baby sister!

LE CORDON BLEU UPDATES - 3

The past two weeks have been crazy busy here. So much stuff was happening at school and at home. Today, I am alone at home without Ian. It's Ian's first day away from home at a Montessori. He was so excited to go to school,play and eat snacks! Amma is here with us for a few more days and after that,our home will be very quiet during the day. As of today,all 3 of us are back to school. Jobin's school starts 2 days from now.He will be travelling quite extensively this year. 2015 is very eventful for us. I am so glad that Amma is here with us now. If you scroll down, you will see a few photographs that we took over the weekend for our Onam celebrations.

At school,we baked tons of Croissants,Puff Pastry treats,Brioche buns etc. The past two weeks were so delicious! Those chocolate eclairs were really to die for. I am still dreaming about them. I really have to start watching what I eat these days since the goodies we are taught at school is not that figure friendly! I also volunteered for Minnesota Cooks at the State Fair and got a chance to rub elbows with a lot of successful Chefs from the Twin Cities.

What we learnt for the past 2 weeks:
Challah Bread
Challah Bread rolls
Brioche sliders with Remoulade sauce
Cream Swans
Chocolate Eclairs
Paris - Breast
Profiteroles
Mushroom & Goat Gourges with Red Bell Pepper Coulis
Puff Pastry
Palmiers
Savoury Galette
Pithivier
Shrimps Newberg
Classic Croissants
Pain au Chocolat
Bear Claw
Different types of Danishes

Thank you all for hanging in there and reading the updates. I promise you,there will be a recipe coming up very soon! Amma has been spoiling us with all the cooking so there's nothing that I can show you of mine. Things will change very soon once Amma leaves ;-)

LE CORDON BLEU UPDATES -2

This past week was awesome! We've been making a lot of fun things in school and the best part is that we can take them ALL home! That also means I bring home crazy load of goodies which we can never finish. That also means I wrote a lot of post it notes and stuck them on our neighbours doors saying,'If you would like to have a slice of freshly baked brownie,knock on our door!'. The responses were amazing!

I usually bring these goodies in a huge cardboard box and who ever looks at me strangely seeing me carry SO much food all piled up in a box, I just offer them a couple of biscotti's or a brownie and that look immediately breaks into a wide grin as they help themselves to a treat or even two! That means, I've been generously giving away food to the people I meet in our garage,our elevators,our corridor,our office and even our lobby!
I wake up every day with a smile on my face because it's something I really look forward to.Going to school. Apart from having a lot of fun with ingredients,I am learning SO much that I wouldn't have if it weren't for LCB. The Chef''s are well experienced and are so thorough in what they know. They teach you the science/reasoning behind why we do a certain thing in a particular way.It lets us think and make us realize why some recipes work better than most others. So for all the fun reasons, I am sharing with you a video that my friend Sara took. I hope you like it!

Things we made last week:
Macadamia & Pecan Chocolate Fudge Brownies
Pistachio & Orange Biscotti's
Chocolate Tart
Fresh Fruit Tart
Lemon Tartlets
Creme Brulee
Creme Caramel
Brioche Buns
Sliders
Thousand Island Dressing
Remoulade Sauce
Garlic Aioli
Cinnamon Rolls
Chocolate Snails
Doughnuts

LE CORDON BLEU UPDATES!

It's been 7 weeks since I've started living my dream... even if that means I need to wake up at 5.30 am every weekday! Which also means that my body has set a natural alarm clock that I wake up at 5.30 am on weekends too.Yes, my days start super early and I leave home by 6.20 am. I got so used to sleeping in late every morning for the last 5 plus years. Now, I am usually up earlier than my alarm clock just to make sure that my alarm goes off at the right time! Seriously,I love what I am doing right now.Even if it's chaotic. Oh by the way, the stuff that you just saw above was a Linzer Tart ( with ground hazelnuts in the base) and Strassburger Cookies (with a hint of cardamom).

School is wonderful. The first six weeks were for sanitation and foundations.Which simply means,we were taught how to handle every single thing so that no one falls sick or dies of a foodborne illness from the food we make or sell. It was one of the best sessions. Now, from 7th week onwards,we have started our Introduction to Baking and Patisserie classes.It's pure FUN! The first day was good and slow,the second day was total total chaos (like in the FN's Chopped kitchen). Third day onwards,things started to get better. We got more organised as a team. Oh yeah, we work in teams.Team work is everything,right? Each one of us gets our own stuff,mixers etc but we work as a team of two,helping each other with mise en place etc. It's a lot of fun! We baked so many cookies,muffins and quick breads,pies and quiche last week. It was so GOOD! The quiche that I baked was my personal favourite. We could do our own filling and I decided to do a Curried Chicken Quiche.It was awesome! Did you know that we could bring all the goodies home? Yes,we can and Amma and I were literally fighting over that Quiche. It was so good!

Things we made last week:
Pate Sucree
Linzer Tart
Strassburger Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Blueberry Muffins
Cornbread
Pate Brisee
Curried Chicken Quice
Old Fashioned Apple Pie
Blueberry Pie
Chocolate Chip and Candied Orange Scones
Biscuits & Sausage Gravy

BACK TO SCHOOL

When I was a teenager,Chandini aunty gifted me a coffee mug which said,'Dream on! Only you can make your dreams come true!'. I didn't quite get it then but now, it's a statement that I live by. So as you would have guessed from looking at the photograph, I have joined Le Cordon Bleu for the Baking & Patisserie program. There's been so much paperwork and college stuff that's been happening for the past 2 months, 3 sets of families visiting and now, Appan and Amma are here as well to join us in the fun! Basically,I've been having a jolly good time since April. It felt very different to go back to school today after a gap of 7 years and that too in a uniform from head to toe! I am a big fan of uniforms so it's just adding more to the excitement.My course is for a year and I should graduate around this time,next year!! It is going to be an exciting year for sure!

A CHRISTMAS SPREAD - MEDIA MENTION

It was just before I left for India this time that I saw an email in my inbox from Grihalakshmi, a fortnighty magazine from Kerala. They asked me if I was willing to do a Christmas menu spread for their magazine. Initially, I was not very sure if I would be able to do it because from the day I would land in India, a week long journey was planned already. Since the team was very flexible with their dates, I accepted the offer and the rest is history,as you see it. The shoot happened in our home, in Kannur and it was a fun filled, labour intensive one yet worth every drop of sweat shed!
This was published on 15 December 2014 but,since we were travelling I couldn't update you all earlier. It's better late than never, right?

Menu:

Rich Hot Chocolate

American Buttermilk Pancakes

Bell Pepper Tempura with Chili Garlic Sauce

Easy Quiche

Cheesy Cauliflower & Sweet Corn Mini Pie

Ginger & Soy Baked Chicken

Grilled Chicken & Pasta Salad

Mango Fizz

Mango Pudding Cake

Mocha Truffles

ABOUT AN INTERVIEW & CELEBRATION CAKES

This past week was one of my busy ones,as a food writer and food instructor. If you remember, I had mentioned it on our Anniversary that I write for a magazine called Malayali, every month. I write for their dessert column. Aaaand,I've been contacted by another upcoming magazine to write for them,about food, but with a twist. In the meantime, I was doing celebrity interviews too, for Malayali.In between all these writing stuff, I was planning the menu for the upcoming classes till December. Each one is different as I don't want any repetitions. So all these were to be submitted in the same week! My already full hands, were overflowing with projects.But,I am certainly thankful,for all the opportunities that have been coming my way!

So,while I was busy interviewing some, I was being interviewed too! This time,from Sulekha.com. As always,these kind of emails finds it's way into my inbox while I'm fast asleep. So when I see that email,first thing in the morning, it just brightens up my day,more than what it already is! You can read my interview here.

While I was in Kannur, I did make a few cakes, to order. I couldn't take pictures of all of it excepting for a few you just saw. It was from March - May and that's the most terrible time to make decorated cakes in Kannur. It's very hot and humid then.The buttercream roses fell off of the cake from one side as I was finishing the other.The fondant sweated and the chalice, that I painstakingly moulded with my hands, melted into a puddle by the time I left it to set. That fondant cake had to be delivered to a hilly area about an hour away from the town. Of course, once we got there, I had to touch it up quite a bit! It was fun, anyway!

MEET BABY IAN !

Meet our new love, Baby Ian! Born on 22 July 2012.

HEARTS & ROSES CAKE... as we turn 2!

Time sure flies! We both observe a moment of silence when we think of how fast the time flew by! It's just because we both still cannot believe it's been 2 full years! I am sure every single one of you, who are happily married,feels the same.It's been a year since I found out a way of doing that checkerboard cake without adding another set of baking tins into my already bursting drawer.It's been a year since we went for a ride on a dog sleigh! Life's is beautiful!

Whenever I bake a cake for any personal occasions, I look forward to having a twist in it.If it was a checkerboard cake last time, it's something else this time. I am just loving how my brain can think and my heart wanting to do it even if I lose my sleep over such petty issues :-) Really! I go to sleep thinking of colours,combinations or even what platter I should place the cake on! Aren't these supposed to be the little things that we shouldn't be worrying upon? Actually, I always feel, life is all about tackling the small issues that come by us and not waiting for that big one,which we think is the most important.

Anyway, why waste this good day on such thoughts! Let's move on! So, I got this idea from my fellow Minneostan food blogger, Amanda.  Somehow, being the lazy self that I am, I didn't want to bake another cake for the centre part instead wanted to get away with a filling. I was just hoping that my idea wouldn't break my heart when we cut into the cake on this BIG day! I asked Amanda what she thought about it and got a green signal with a 'chill it well' advice.

Now, this is how it looks like :-) What do you guys think about it? We felt it was really cool! I enjoyed piping the roses over the cake and filling with a girly pink frosting. I wondered if Jobin would pass a comment on the colour but he didn't!

BLACK MAGIC CAKE with PINK BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
Recipe source for the cake: Hersheys
Recipe source for the frosting & filling: Alice

Ingredients :
Cake
1 3/4 c flour
2 c sugar
3/4 c cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 c oil
1 c buttermilk
1 c strong black coffee
1 tsp vanilla

Method: Pre-heat the oven to 350C and line two 9 inch baking tins.
In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients to it and beat well for 2 minutes. Pour into your baking tins (halfway) and bake for 35-40 mins or till done. I used three 6 inch baking tins but used just 2 cakes for the final assembly.


Frosting:
1 c /2 sticks unsalted butter,softened
3 c powdered sugar,sifted
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla
upto 4 tbsp milk

Method:In a large mixing bowl on high, beat butter for a minute until it's soft and fluffy.Add the sugar and beat on low till well combined. Add salt, vanilla and 2 tbsp milk and beat on medium for 3 minutes.Add colour if needed and beat for a minute. I needed a stiff frosting for the centre filling and a soft frosting for the roses, so after I filled the cake, I added another tablespoon of milk to the frosting and beat  it for a minute.


Assembly: Cut the cakes as shown below and fill it with buttercream.

Sandwich the two edges using melted chocolate.The cake with the pyramid goes on top. Give it a crumb coating with the buttercream and then pipe roses with 1M tip from Wilton. 

Our celebration cakes are always meant to be a surprise for Jobin. Therefore he was banned from using or even touching the refrigerator starting from last evening. Indeed that had it's effects when he saw the cake this morning !

This cake is super moist and the buttercream perfectly sweet.It compliments each other very well!