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.

RE-VISITING CHOCOLATE BISCUIT PUDDING

Isomehow just cannot get enough of this pudding. This has been one of my firm favourites due to ease and taste. It's not that I have't blogged about it, it's just that I have improved in photography over the years and I wanted to give this pudding a better look and share it with you all so that this deliciousness wouldn't go unnoticed! It needs attention :-) I have plenty of time in my hands when it comes to dessert and I want it to look as pretty as it can even if I am standing on one leg in my messy kitchen :-)

This recipe comes from my Aunt Beeji. She is my dad's cousin and I remember asking her for some recipes a  long time ago, easily 10 years ago. She said she has this yummy biscuit pudding recipe which she shall send me once she gets back home, which she did. I love recieveing letters especially in this world of everything electronic.There's something about fresh ink and paper, it's so personal, so touching that makes you want to treasure it.

I still have that copy she sent me. She sent me some fabulous icing recipes too, along with it. I have used her 'Fudge Frosting' recipe on my Mahogany Cake and it is a winner. You need to work fast with that icing because it might dry out otherwise and be a bit crackly.

So here's is the recipe (once again!) for my favourite easy pudding as I celebrate the success of my little blog having 600,000 hits!

MY FAVOURITE CHOCOLATE BISCUIT PUDDING
Recipe source: Beeji Aunty
Serves 6-8 depending on the size of your dish.

Ingredients:
200g Marie biscuits,crushed
100gSalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 c milk
1 c sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp Vanilla/Rum

1 c heavy cream, whipped

Method:
Mix together crushed biscuits and butter till they are soft and sand-like. Spoon in half of it into wine glasses and press it with a spoon and level it.Reserve the remaining biscuit crumbs aside.
Make a thick sauce by boiling together milk,sugar, cocoa powder & cornflour.Whisk constantly to obtain a smooth sauce .When cooled, add vanilla/rum. Divide this among the wine glasses.
Top it with the remaining biscuit crumbs and then put a blob or two of whipped cream in each glass.
Let it set in the fridge for 4 hours. Serve cold.
You can decorate with a cube/square of chocolate like I did :-)

Verdict: I can eat this for brekky, lunch, tea time and dinner! I love this pudding so much that I convinced Amma to add it to her 'Cookery Class Menu'. There is nothing to go wrong with this recipe, so it's simply fool proof! Go ahead and try it for yourself and if you do, please let me know how you liked it :-)

CHOCOLATE & VANILLA BAVARIAN CREAM GATEAU

Ihave no idea what took me so long to update this little space of mine after his birthday. Anyways it's better late than never : D The weather here is changing everyday. Finally we got to see some greenery on  the otherwise skeletons of trees. But this morning I woke up to see a gloomy sky giving way to heavy lightning and thunder and I was as happy as a peacock! Every time the sky gets gloomy, I see myself longing for heavy thunderstorms and rain.I'm just like a peacock, who does a rain dance with it's beautiful feathers (not that I have any) every time it's about to rain :)

This was Jobin's 2nd cake for his birthday. I thought of mixing up 4 of my favourite components while making a gateau : Simple Sponge, Soaking Syrup, Bavarian Cream & Ganache. You can never go wrong with this combo. The cake & filling was very light and the soaking syrup moistened the cake beautifully. I set the cake in a loaf tin as I didn't want the same old rectangular/square/round birthday cake this time. I'm sure I'll return to my favourite round very soon :-)

'A Sweet Punch' is completing a year  this month, so we thought of asking our members to bake whatever they like. So this is what I am sending in as my entry for this month! I still cannot believe that our little group has turned one! :-)

CHOCOLATE & VANILLA BAVARIAN CREAM GATEAU

You will need:
Simple Chocolate Sponge (Recipe given below)
Vanilla Bavarian Cream ( I made only half the quantity and omitted coffee powder from the recipe)
Soaking syrup
Chocolate Ganache

Recipe & Method for the sponge:
Beat 1/2 c granulate sugar and 3 large eggs together for 10-12 mins on high speed. I used my hand held beater. Fold in 1/4c all purpose flour,1/4 c cocoa powder & 1 tbsp cornflour. Pour into a loaf tin and bake at 350F/180C for 25 mins or till it is springy to touch. Cool in the tin for 10 mins, demould and cool completely. Slice it horizontally into 3.

Assembly:
Line your loaf tin with plastic wrap and put one layer of sponge, moisten it with the syrup and pour half the bavarian cream over it. Repeat. The last layer should be a layer of sponge.
Let it set in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours.

De-mould it and drizzle ganache over the sides and top. I didn't level the top completely as I wanted a bit of an 'old fashioned' look for the cake.Decorate with slivered almonds.Chill till needed.

Verdict: I took this cake to my relative's house that evening as we were having a get together there. Everybody was intrigued by the texture of the cake as you can see that the bavarian cream was pushed out of the cake layers that it coated the sides too. It was very moist and equally delicious! Bavarian cream is one of the easiest and tastiest filling you can make for your layered cake. I'm so hooked onto it now!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

I made his childhood favourite, Lamingtons as his 1st cake for the day. The 2nd cake for the day will follow :)

For the recipe,click here

BUTTER CHICKEN / MURGH MAKHANI

After the lecture I gave you in my last post as to comparing homemade to restaurant made, this is such a contradiction. The first time I ever ate a Butter Chicken was in a restaurant and so whenever I make it at home, I compare it with the restaurant made. It usually doesn't even come close to that but I used to think that's the maximum I could do. But I was proved wrong. Very very wrong.

When we went to Chicago last July, I read Monica's article in a magazine/newspaper,cannot remember which one it was now...getting old, I suppose! I jumped up with joy because she is a food blogger and I get excited everytime I see 'one of us' in the media. I told everyone there that I knew her and how good she is with with her stuff. That recipe was stuck in my mind.But month's flew by and then I won a copy of her lovely book, Modern Spice. I cooked my way through it,mostly for parties and whatever I cook for parties never rarely appear on this space as I want to serve them all hot to our guests :-)

So last week, we went to a popular Nepali/Tibetian restaurant in St.Paul and ordered Butter Chicken. It smelt so good and tasted even better but towards the end, we kind of felt sick and heavy because of the enormous amount of butter in it.As we walked towards the car, I rubbed on my belly and was thinking, 'I could have done without that'. That's something I hate...eat happily and then feeling guilty about it as soon as it goes down your throat! So I was determined to make this at home, in a healthier way...less butter and less cream. I have made a Murgh Makani before and thought it was 'the best' then, but I would say this one wins hands down over the other one :-)

BUTTER CHICKEN
Recipe courtesy : Monica Bhide

Ingredients:

1c thick yogurt

1 tbsp peeled ,grated ginger

1 tbsp peeled, grated garlic

2 tbsp Homemade Tandoori Masala

1/4 canned tomato puree (I used tomato paste)

2 tbsp lemon/lime juice

2 tbsp melted butter/ghee

1 whole chicken, cut into 14 pcs. Slit the pieces to allow the marinade to penetrate.

For the sauce:

4 tbsp butter ( I used only 2)

1 tbsp peeled, grated ginger

1 tbsp peeled, minced garlic

2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped

Salt to taste

1 green chilli, snipped fine using a kitchen shear

1 tsp Kasuri Methi

1/2 c cream

Method:

Marinade: Mix together all the ingredients including the chicken .Cover and let it marinate in the fridge for 1.5 hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F and bake the chicken (along with the left over marinade)for 30 mins or until the juices run clear.

During the last 15 mins of baking, you can start with the sauce.

In a large pan,on medium heat, melt the butter.Add the ginger & garlic and saute for 30 secs.

Add in the chopped tomato and cook for 10 mins mashing it up with the back of your spoon as you go. By the end of 10 mins, it will be an orange sauce with hardly any pieces of tomatoes to be seen.

By now the chicken would have been baked to perfection.

Add the chicken, the remaining marinade, salt, chili & fenugreek leaves. Simmer covered for 10 mins

Add the cream and simmer for a minute.

Serve hot!

Verdict: I cannot describe in words as to how much we loved this curry. It's just PERFECT! When you make this and taste it, you will thanks heavens! This is actually Monica's father's recipe and I have to say a big Thank You to him for coming up with such an incredible recipe!!

HOMEMADE TANDOORI MASALA

Ilove anything 'Tandoori'. It has a unique flavour and is so Indian. Whichever Indian restaurant you go to(atleast to the ones I've been), you will always find a Tandoori Chicken/Butter Chicken/Chicken Tikka Masala on the menu. It is so Indian. I think we should have a 'National Masala' and there will be a tough competition between 'Tandoori & 'Garam' masala for that title:-) I really wouldn't know which one to choose because I love both!

There are some thoughts which bother me when I try to find the 'perfect' recipe. For me, if I have tasted anything homemade first and then go to a restaurant, I always compare it  'homemade' to 'restaurant'. But if I have eaten anything in a restaurant for the first time and I try to make it at home, then it's restaurant to homemade comparison. Whatever it is, I think it should be the former first as I feel that is the real cooking with real ingredients! It's not that the restaurants are serving anything plastic, but a lot of unhealthy amounts of butter,cream & oil goes into it. Some people feel that if you add  lumps of butter, your dish can go from poor to rich and taste exceptional and I've been a victim of that, a sad victim. It was like I was drinking butter in the form of a curry :-D

It's all about the freshness of ingredients, how much you add and where you add it  makes all the difference. Again, this is my personal opinion .Now what does all this have to do with a simple Tandoori Masala, you may ask! I just shared what was in my mind, that's all :-) I made the BEST EVER Butter Chicken for dinner last night with this homemade masala and that is for another post. So till then , find some time to make this masala and keep it ready! When I post the butter chicken recipe, if you feel like it, you can make it for dinner that night or else you can use it for other recipes :-)

HOMEMADE TANDOORI MASALA
Recipe source : My very good friend Sadhana Ginde

Ingredients:
2 tbsp garam masala
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp coriander powder
4 tsp paprika (you can use Kashmiri Mirch)
2 tsp Kasuri Methi /Dried Fenugreek Leaves
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Method:
Combine all the ingredients above using a whisk/spoon/coffee grinder and store it in an airtight container. It stays fresh for 4-6 weeks.

Verdict: It tastes exceptionally good!! Jobin found me reaching for the bottle this morning to have a whiff of it :) It smells so nice!