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

INDIAN EGG CURRY / NADAN MOTTA CURRY

Some of you may have noticed that I call eggs 'Motta' instead of 'Mutta' in my mother tongue,Malayalam. We always called 'Motta' a 'Motta' at home. Initially, I was unaware of it until my school friends made fun of me whenever I said so. Anyway, I still continue calling it the same. It really doesn't matter as long whatever you make out of it turns out good!

I love pairing a motta curry with Chapathi. I can eat many many chapathi's in such instances. I am a Chapathi lover, if you didn't know that already. I can eat it 3 times a day. I also absolutely love making Chapathis at home, especially the kneading part. I equally love the portioning of the dough, rolling it out , smearing some oil, folding the dough, rolling it out into squares/ triangles/ circles depending on my mood and fancy and finally cooking it and seeing it puff up on my precious round cast iron skillet. See, I even enjoy typing out the whole Chapathi making process. I simply love it! Oh, and if you want to see that precious round cast iron skillet of mine, you can, in my 5 Minute 2 Ingredient Pizza photographs!

Now, getting on to the Motta part of the curry. This is made with hard boiled eggs. I feel the need to stress of the word 'hard' boiled eggs. It doesn't mean, the eggs are boiled until the yolks end up being rubbery, hard & chewy. I hate such eggs and always makes me want to throw up. There's a way you can make perfect hard boiled eggs.It's super simple. If you follow the steps correctly, you will always have the perfectly cooked eggs.

This curry of mine,is way too different from what Amma makes.I always fail at replicating her's here, in my kitchen. So I have to be satisfied with this version of mine, which is really good, in it's own way. One thing I hate about Motta curries when I eat out is that most people slice their onions lengthwise and don't saute it long enough that they maintain their shape and don't melt into the sauce. I like the onions and tomatoes to be diced so that they can blend into the sauce but still maintain a crunch of it's own. Yes, I'm a bit weird! Also, if you want a South Indian touch to this curry, you can garnish it with curry leaves. Or else, garnish it with cilantro!

INDIAN EGG CURRY

My own recipe

Ingredients:
4 hard boiled eggs (recipe at the end)
1/3 cup oil
2 large onions, diced
2 medium tomatoes,diced
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
1 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 cup water
1 cup thick coconut milk OR heavy cream OR whole milk
Salt to taste
1 sprig curry leaves  OR a handful chopped cilantro
Method: Heat oil in a large pan,with sides.Once the oil is hot, add the diced onions along with a pinch of salt and saute until they turn soft. Add the tomatoes and continue cooking,mushing it up occasioanlly until all the water from tomatoes have evaporated. Add the spices and cook for 2 minutes,stirring.Add water and cook until it reduces a bit.Add coconut milk/heavy cream/whole milk and let it heat through completely. Adjust seasoning.Add the boiled & sliced eggs into it. Garnish with curry leaves/cilantro and serve hot!
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How to boil eggs perfectly, everytime: Take a saucepan with tall sides and fill three quarters of it with room temperature water/ tap water. Drop in the eggs carefully.Keep the saucepan on the stove and turn on the heat. Bring it to a rolling boil and turn down the heat to medium.Set the timer for 12 minutes. Turn off the stove and take the saucepan off it. Pour out the hot water and refill the saucepan with cold tap water and let the eggs sit in it for 5 mins. Peel the eggs and use as desired.
If you don't pour out the hot water immediately after the eggs are boiled and let it sit in there for a long time, the yolks will turn greenish-gray.

Jobin wanted me to make the egg curry in a different way but when I set out to make this, I warned him that I might deviate from that route and go the way it forms in my head.And that's exactly what happened. The curry was finger licking good.It had the richness of the coconut milk, mostly because I use the tinned coconut milk.If you like your curry to be on the thin side, add more liquid as you please. I mean, any curry recipe should act as a base for you and you can always modify it to your liking! I didn't share this with Ian Vaava as I didn't want to set his mouth on fire :-) He is too tiny to handle this amount of heat!
 

HOMEMADE GARLIC BUTTER NAAN {Eggless}

The other day, I was on a call with our friend D and as always our talks led to the new dishes that we tried recently. She was very excited to tell me that  her cousin S tried a new recipe for a naan and she told D about it and D was excited and tried that recipe for Butter Naan which came out really well. I was excited to hear about it because of all the recipes I have tried so far, none of them were that good! I know, we all have the limitation of not having a tandoor at home and no matter what, you just wouldn't get that taste without it.

Whichever recipe I have tried so far, the naan wouldn't puff up when baked/broiled and if it's cooked on stove top,it doesn't look that good for me. They cook completely but when you tear the bread apart, it looks uncooked and not fluffy at all! There were some recipes which used direct flame to get the charred effect and unfortunately we don't have a gas stove so that option is also ruled out! What timing, right? :-)

So finally, I decided to give Naans a try, the FINAL trial. I always say that whenever I tried making them at home but somehow I could not give up. I was sure I would find my perfect dough someday and I did! I don't know whether you all would think the same but do give it a try, it's super simple and the results are really satisfying! Do not forget to keep them thick while you roll them out or else you will get hard almost crackers like Naans  :-)

If you are planning to try this at home, you can plan on making this just before serving as it hardly takes any time for the dough to rise and be made into soft naans. When broiling them, which is the method that is used for cooking them here, make sure you place the rolled out dough on the rack closest to the heating elements. That way the cooking time will be less plus you are not giving it a chance to get dried up.Also, keep an eye on them, if they turn very very brown, they will look pretty but it might be a bit chewy :-)

HOMEMADE GARLIC BUTTER NAAN

Recipe source: Aarthi

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c maida/all purpose flour
1 tbsp yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
About 1 1/4 c warm water
1 tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
A few leaves of cilantro, chopped fine

Method: Pre-heat the oven on BROIL mode for 10 mins.

In a bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together.Make a well in the centre and add enough water to form a smooth slightly sticky dough.Knead for a minute. Cover with a moist towel and let it rest for 30 mins. It would have doubled in volume by now, if not, let it rest until doubled.
Divide the dough into 6. Roll them out into 1/4 inch thickeness and pat the chopped garlic and cilantro over it. Roll the rolling pin over it lightly so that garlic and cilantro sticks to the dough. Place the rolled out naan onto a cookie sheet/ flat baking sheet and broil for 3-4 mins or until you see them puffed up with brown spots over it*. Flip over and broil for another minute. Take it out and brush them with butter and store them in a casserole.

*Don't get excited seeing the brown spots appear and leave them to brown a lot further,it will do no good! I got excited and was left with a not so soft one :-D

I regret for not having some curry ready beforehand, especially the Butter Chicken I made a few months ago! I cannot blame myself because this Naan came out as a surprise :-) I really really liked it! Soft, fluffy...the way I wanted it to be! Jobin ate them quietly and then said that these were the best I've tried so far but again, it does lack that tandoor flavour! :-) So if you are ready to give up on that last bit,you are definitely ready to try this at home :-) I think this is the closest I can get to making it at home!

HOMEMADE GULAB JAMUNS...from scratch!

If you noticed the title, I have mentioned that these Gulab Jamuns are made from scratch. It's just to avoid any confusions that I had when I was searching online for gulab jamun recipes. Many claimed it to be homemade (in the literal sense) and when I reached the recipe part,it asked for xyz brand of Gulab Jamun mix. I can get away with a readymade mix and I have done that many times before but knowing the person that I am, I have to make things at home, if it's possible :) I have searched high and low for a reliable source for it's recipe and have tried quite a few and I must say all of them were disasters. The main problems were a super sticky/stiff/dry dough or gulab jamuns not soaking the syrup.

Ateast once a week, there would be these experiments in our kitchen and when Jobin comes back home, instead of saying a 'Hello' it used to be 'This is the last time I'm ever going to try this!'. Everything went wrong but I never gave up. So after that, when he opened the main door,he would sniff, smile and say,'I thought last time was the last time!'.

So after many a 'last' time, I got hold of a proportion which worked like a charm for me! You will have to be careful about the consistency of the dough or else it will break while frying.If that happens, add a little more flour to the dough and fry another one.

HOMEMADE GULAB JAMUNS
My own recipe

Ingredients:
For the dumplings
1 1/4 c milk powder (Use Everyday- It's available at Indian grocery stores)
1/2 c all purpose flour/ maida
A good pinch of baking soda
3 tbsp cold butter
A few drops of cold milk (not more than 3 tbsp)

Method:Mix together milk together, flour and baking soda. Add the cold butter and rub it well into the flour.It will change the texture of the flour. Add milk little by little( you may or maynot need all of it) and form a smooth yet firm dough. Divide into 25 smooth small balls and deep fry in hot oil.Add the fried dumplings into hot syrup (recipe below) and leave aside for 30 mins.

The  oil should not be very hot or else the centre wouldn't be cooked completely. Add a ball of dough into the hot oil, it should settle at the bottom and rise slowly at the count of 10.That is the perfect temperature for frying the dumplings.

For the sugar syrup
1 1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 water
5 green cardamom pods, crushed

Method: Boil together for 5 mins and keep warm on low heat.
Serve warm or chilled.It's delicious when served with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream.

You can flavour the syrup with Rose water too.

The end result was melt-in-your-mouth Gulab Jamuns. The centres were perfectly cooked and the syrup was well absorbed making the dumplings pleasantly sweet. We really love these homemade Gulab Jamuns,especially Jobin! If at any point you feel that the dough is breaking during frying, add some more flour to the dough and knead it in. Your problem will be solved! :-)

A CAKE FOR A BABY SHOWER

Iam mighty pleased with what I have done with this cake.This cake kept me awake for many nights and finally now that I am done with it, I can sleep in peace. Zzzzzz (not really!).This is for a couple here in Minneapolis and everything was left upto me to decide. All they wanted was a chocolate cake with a chocolate frosting. So after a few days of brainstorming session with Jobin & myself, I was able to decide how I wanted the cake to look like in the end.

So what do you guys think about my cake? I really don't think my heart can bear to see that being cut :-)
And for your kind information, I'm not a Wilton Cake Decoration class product :-)

My blog is loading very slow for the past 2 weeks and that's why you are not able to see the comment section. Can I request you guys to please wait for the blog to load completely so that you can tell me how you like this cake? Pretty please? Thanks so much! I am working on getting it back to normal soon!

A reminder: I am giving away some cookies, so don't forget to claim it!

RITCHIE'S FAVOURITE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Hmmm...what shall I begin this post with? Sometimes I feel I should have blogged anonymously and never let go of my identity here. I'm not a secretive person at all hence you know a lot of stuff about me including my real name and how I look to the colour I like the most and what keeps me up dreaming all night!

Now, the situation is if I want to write my heart out here...I cannot. That's because my entire family including my extended family and their relatives and their neighbours and my neighbours and all their friends and family reads this...reads whatever I write here. When people meet me at parties, they identify me saying 'Hey, you are that Ria of Ria's Collection!'.They discuss with me the things that I have written over this space. It is indeed a proud moment for me and I will never deny that fact! Infact my cousin Tia was telling me that she introduced my blog to her neighbour and whenever her neighbour meets her, she tells Tia that she is addicted to my blog and that she even browses my blog randomly before going to sleep! Now that is something...I mean if my blog is becoming a bed-time story book it does mean something to me. I have some cookbooks piled up on the floor next to my bed and I browse through it before I sleep...just simply flip through, see the photographs and get the idea of how things are done and how people manage to keep their spirits up even when the most beautiful thing turns into a disaster and how many pounds of butter goes into one small piece of cake etc.

I consider that to be a book's success. I am not sure how many of you think that way.So I am very happy if my blog is becoming a bed time story book! :) At the same time, everyone knows about what I think, what I do. It's part of being out in the public.I know it but I never knew what I was getting into when I got into this whole thing called blogging! So I don't know if people can tell me, 'You should've known!'.

There have been days when I wondered that I should just quit and stop everything. Yes, stop blogging. Stop dreaming about food. Stop thinking about food. Stop taking pictures of what I cook. Stop blogging, completely. If you noticed, I never said, stop cooking . That's not possible because I have to feed the two of us and it's me who has to do that.

Now, after writing all this, I feel I should just delete everything I just wrote but no, I won't do that. That's the problem with me.I don't like to delete and type sentences because it wouldn't be the way it comes from my heart...it would be my brain's work then :) I admire people who think with their brains first simply because I can never do that!

Okay,now that's enough of rambling for the day. So by now you all know that I have a sweet little brother and that he scored some awesome marks for his 12th board exams!He joined college today and he is leaving home. I was sad when I spoke to him because all my life when I think of him,I know he is at home...walking the way he walks ...swaying his arms and never smiling (especially when he sees me) even though he has a great smile ;-) Now he won't be at home but away in a hostel. Anyhow, he is joining college and I wanted to bake him his favourite Chocolate Cupcakes that he used to ask me to bake  after I once baked it for him long long ago...almost 14 years ago. I found this recipe on Hindu (newspaper) and didn't know it would be this good. I was just 12 years old then so I cut that part out and stuck it onto Amma's recipe Diary and she still has that copy! When I grew up, I wrote it down in my own Diary . I don't know how he remembers it as he was just a 4 yr old but he used to ask me always 'to make those chocolate cupcakes' which I never did...until 2 days ago. So this is for you Ritchie Kutta, have a fun time in College! Study hard and not hardly ;-)

RITCHIE'S FAVOURITE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
250 g all purpose flour
350g sugar
375 ml yogurt
75 g cocoa powder
100 g unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Method:
Pre heat the oven to 180C/350F. Line 2 regular sized (not mini)cupcake tin with cupcake liners.

In a bowl,beat all the ingredients together on medium-high speed for 2 mins. Pour 1/4 c of the batter into each cupcake liner and bake for 30 mins or till a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Verdict: Delicious soft chocolate cupcakes which are super easy to make and please :-) I don't think there are many recipes which can give you 24 cupcakes with just 100g of butter! Isn't this recipe a winner??

He always asks me 'Did you try out anything new?' whenever we speak over the phone and I list out all what I tried and he just asks 'Hmm,Nallatha (did it taste good)?'. I know he misses my experiments at home( inspite all the wonderful goodies Amma makes ) which he used to gobble up once he gets back from school...Amma confirms it :-) So this time when I am home, I am baking this for him :-)
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The giveaway is extended till Monday as some of you wrote to me saying there is a problem commenting on my blog. Till then, go through the wonderful stories you all came up with! It's hilarious!


Happy Friday guys!

WHOLEWHEAT FRUIT & NUT COOKIES

Ilove cookies and I'm just looking for an excuse to bake a batch of 'em.The Food Blogger Bake Sale gave me a reason to bake to my heart's content and I took these cookies along with my Indian Curried  Puffs & Lamingtons. I saw this recipe on Swapna's wonderful blog and I knew I would be making it as soon as possible since she called it 'healthy' cookies!
I cannot tell you how good these cookies are, you will absolutely love it as they are tasty,chewy (in a good way) and butter-less! I made 4 batches in less than a week's time and they disappeared as soon as they were baked and hopefully they don't make an appearance on my waist! ;-)

The bake sale was so much fun! I got to meet many talented food bloggers that I haven't met before at other events and the highlight was meeting Amanda of I Am Baker. She is so wonderful and talented! Kate is a great organiser and she chose the perfect venue which was Kitchen in the Market. (It'sAmanda & Stephanie in the picture above, Kate in the picture below)

Now back to the cookies...the original recipe calls for a portion of flax seeds which makes it healthy but I didn't have any of it, so I substituted it with oatmeal and also used cashews & raisins ! These cookies are so so good,go bake a batch of 'em and fall in love with it!

WHOLEWHEAT FRUIT & NUT COOKIES
Recipe source: Eat Good 4 Life

Ingredients:
3/4 c wholewheat flour (I used Ashirvad Atta)
3/4 c oatmeal (I used Quaker oats)
1 c dry fruits (I used cashewnuts & raisins)
1/2 c chocolate chips
1tsp baking soda
1 egg
2/3 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c canola/vegetable oil
1 tsp Vanilla


Method:
Pre-heat oven to 350F/180C and line your cookie sheet with baking parchemnt.
Whisk together eggs,sugar,oil and vanilla in another bowl.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix it in with a rubber spatula.
Drop level tablespoons of dough onto the cookie sheet and bake for 12-14 mins.
Cool on the tin for 2 mins and then on the wire rack till cooled completely.
Store in an airtight tin.

Verdict: Absolutely delicious! Jobin is not a cookie person but he said these cookies were 'Incredible'! I am addicted to it and I am sure this cookie is going to be a regular in our home,whenever the cookie craving hits me! It's so simple to make! I guess I'm starting to fall for wholewheat products,they are a lot more healthier than refined flour.

VANILLA CUPCAKES WITH GLOSSY CHOCOLATE FROSTING

The first batch of cupcakes that I ever tried baking were for my brother when he was as little as 6 or something. Now he is writing his 12th std board exams! Time sure flies!  I got a recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes from 'Hindu'(an Indian Newpaper) and I promptly cut that out and stuck it on my mother's recipe book since I didn't own one then. We didn't have cupcake liners at home then, so I made the whole thing as a cake. There was a recipe for a frosting too which called for 'cooking chocolate'. Even today, it's hard to find 'cooking/baking' chocolate in Kannur, so you could have imagined the situation 12 years ago! So, we went with my favourite chocolate, Cadbury's Dairy Milk  and tried melting it in the microwave. I had no idea that the chocolate will maintain it's shape unless we stir it...sadly it was burnt in the centre.

But, I didn't give up, I scraped out the good parts and made the frosting with it. It came out really good.He loved the cake and from that day on he used to ask me to bake the same cupcakes and I always ...always postponed it. I have made him so many other stuffs, but never got to baking those chocolate cupcakes as 'cupcakes'. I will bake it for him the next time I'm home :) You will see the recipe here, very soon! :)

Those cupcakes look cute, don't they? I made these cupcakes for Jobin to take to work last week. They smelt so good while they were baking and was even more tempting after I pulled it out of the oven. I really couldn't resist clicking a picture of these cuppiecakes!

I frosted them with a simple frosting which was so glossy that I could see my reflection on it. I kept everything simple even though I wanted to do those fancy swirls with the 1M tip, but then he would have had a hard time taking it to office . Actually, I would have given him a hard time saying, 'Keep the box straight, okay? No,no! Don't press on that! Argh! You are not going to keep the swirls in place...Just give that box to me...I told you not to do that!' Blah Blah!

So to prevent all that, this the best frosting I could do. You let them set for a while and then it doesn't even stick to your fingers nor leave a mark on it unless you poke your fingers into it like I did later just to see whether the glossy frosting can yield at some point,atleast! :) The recipe for these cupcakes was in my recipe diary from a very long time, even before I started blogging and I have no idea where I got it from. I am sure it's from some aunts of mine :) Whoever it is, Thank you so much! I had used the same recipe for my Craisin-Orange Squarecakes where you also get to  see a step-by-step process of how these babies are made.

VANILLA CUPCAKES with GLOSSY CHOCOLATE FROSTING
Recipe source for frosting- Alice Medrich (She calls it Fast Fudge Frosting)

Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
2 c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt (omit if you are using salted butter)

1 c sugar
1/2 c unsalted butter ,room temperature
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Glossy Frosting: (I made only half the amount and I still had some left over)
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1 c granulated sugar
1 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
Salt (omit if using salted butter)

Method:
Cupcakes:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F and position the rack in the centre.
Prepare a 12- cup muffin tin by placing the cupcake liners in it.

Sift the dry ingredients together, if possible, thrice.
Cream the butter and sugar for 3 mins.Add in the eggs one by one and beat it will for 1 minute after each addition.
Next with the motor running,add the flour and milk alternately starting and ending with flour.
By now the batter should be light and fluffy.
Spoon it into the cupcake liners, about 2/3 rd's full, which will be about 2 1/2 tbsp.
Bake for 20-25 mins or till the top is lightly golden brown in colour and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from the tin immediately and let it cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:
In a saucepan,melt butter. Stir in the sugar and cocoa. Gradually stir in the cream.
Heat over medium heat, stirring till everything is mixed well and is smooth and hot but not boiling.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and a pinch or two of salt, to taste.
Set aside to cool. Dip the cupcake upside down in to the frosting and let the excess drip off.
Turn the cupcake and place it on a plate/rack and let the frosting set.

Verdict: Very soft buttery cupcakes! The frosting is such a charm to work with...gives you perfect shiny results every time you dip the cupcake into it! :)