Blueberry mahalabia with strawberry sugar syrup and yoghurt

 Mahalabia is a dessert with origins in the Middle East. It is traditionally flavoured with fruits, spices and essences from the region such as rosewater and cardamom.The beauty of this dish is to serve it in small pots or bowls but can be served in one big pot too.

Ingredients

Blueberry mahalabia
125g punnet blueberries
1 tbs honey
1litre milk
220g caster sugar
1/3 cup cornflour

2 tbs water

Sugar syrup 
250g punnet strawberries, chopped, plus 250g extra, whole
220g caster sugar
125ml water
125g punnet raspberries

125g punnet blueberries, extra

Vanilla cream
125ml cream
2 tbs icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
125ml vanilla yoghurt

Method

1. To make mahalabia, place blueberries and honey in a small saucepan over low heat and stir for 5 minutes or until soft and pulpy.

2. Stir milk and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves and mixture just comes to the boil. Mix cornflour with water, then add to the pan and stir for a further 5 minutes or until mixture thickens and boils. Stir in blueberry mixture.

3. Divide mixture among 4 heatproof serving glasses. Cool and refrigerate overnight.

4. Meanwhile, to make sugar syrup, stir strawberries, sugar and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until mixture is thick. Cool slightly, then stir in raspberries, blueberries and extra strawberries. Refrigerate until required.

5. To make vanilla cream, beat cream, sugar and vanilla essence with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, then fold in yoghurt.

6. Top mahalabia with berry sugar syrup and serve with vanilla cream.

Pizza Party

Cute miniature pizzas, ideal for picnics or for little hands.From the same recipe u can make one big or many small up to u or occasion.

Pizza Dough: (makes 6-8)

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
3 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. instant yeast
pinch of baking powder
warm milk for kneading (approx. 1/2 to 3/4 cup)

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix all the dry ingredients and the oil, then slowly start adding the warm milk a little at a time. Get it to a soft dough, the softer the better, knead it very well for at least 8 minutes or more if possible. Leave it to rise to double its size, takes about 30 minutes to an hour depending on the weather.

Once risen, punch it down, give it a quick knead and then divide the dough into 6 or 8 equal balls. Roll out each ball and place on your greased baking tray. Again cover the tray and let the bases rise slightly for about 15 minutes.

Now, using the tip of a sharp knife, make small slits here and there all over the base. This helps make sure that the base rises evenly so you won’t have awkward looking bubbles all over your pizza!

Apply your pizza sauce, followed by the topping of your choice and then some cheese. Bake at 180 C (in a pre-heated oven) for about 10-15 minutes, or until you see that they are done and the cheese is beautifully melted. 

Topping
This can be anything you like. I normally like to make a simple tomato sauce to apply on the pizza base, followed by any toppings like shredded tandoori chicken, keema, boiled or steamed chicken, etc. I also like oregano, thinly sliced capsicum and pineapple pieces especially if am using chicken for the topping.

Here is my simple tomato sauce recipe:

Blend 2-3 tomatoes, 1 capsicum, 1 green chili, small onion and a grated carrot together until smooth.

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat a bit of oil in a pan, like a tbsp. or even less. Then add a bit of garlic paste, followed by 1 tbsp. tomato paste. Once that’s cooked for a couple minutes, add the blended mixture and simmer. Add salt and a pinch of sugar followed by a bit of tandoori masala or cumin powder or oregano or you can just leave it plain and unspiced according to your taste. Let it simmer until thick and all the water is gone. Then use accordingly! 

For the cheese, my favorites are mozzarella and cheddar coz they give the pizza that fantastic stretchy cheesy quality. YUM! 

A desi breakfast consisting of a spicy chickpeas dish, a halwa dish and soft yummy pooris. Perfect breakfast I have tried the recipe many times and always turned out to be a wonderful experience. I recommend the pooris recipe really authentic one. 

Halwa

INGREDIENTS

1 cup semolina
1 cup sugar
1 cup ghee or butter

(2 cups) you can use whole milk instead
¼ tsp. cardamom powder
pinch of color and/or saffron (optional)
crushed or flaked nuts for garnishing

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat ghee/butter in a pan, add the semolina and fry on low heat until color starts to change and it gives a lovely nutty aroma. You should keep stirring often so the color is even. In the meantime, pour the milk and sugar, saffron and/or food color into a blender and blend until well combined.

Once the semolina is golden, slowly add the blended milk/sugar mixture a little at a time. Be careful not to pour it all at once because it will splutter. Once all the milk is in the semolina, keep stirring and let it cook until most of the moisture is gone. Add the cardamom powder, mix it in, then cover and set on low heat to steam for 5 minutes. Garnish with nuts.

Cholay

INGREDIENTS

4 tbsp. oil
½ tsp. cumin seeds
½ tsp. mustard seeds/rai
¼ tsp. garlic paste
2 tbsp. grated raw mango (or 1 tsp. aamchoor powder)
1 big tomato, chopped
1 tbsp. tomato paste
2 green chilies, chopped
2 cups boiled chickpeas
3 medium boiled potatoes and chopped into cubes
1 tsp. cumin seeds
¼ tsp. turmeric powder
½ tsp. cumin powder
1 tsp. red chilli powder
salt to taste
1 tsp. lemon juice
chopped coriander for garnishing

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds, let them splutter. Then add the curry leaves, followed by garlic paste, grated mango, 1 chopped chili and chopped tomatoes. Cook until the water from the tomato evaporates. Add the turmeric, cumin and chili powders, plus the tomato paste. Fry for a minute, then add the chickpeas and potatoes.

Let the masala coat everything nicely, sprinkle some salt. Then add 1 cup water. Turn the heat down to low and cover the pot. Let it simmer gently on low heat for about 15 minutes, then open and mash some of the potatoes/chickpeas just to help thicken the gravy slightly.

Add the remaining green chilies and the lemon juice. Adjust salt and garnish with chopped coriander. Done! 

Soft Pooris

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup atta flour
2 tbsp. yoghurt
3 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. salt
pinch of baking powder
warm water for kneading (you can add a bit of milk in it for extra soft pooris!)
oil for deep frying

INSTRUCTIONS

Sift the flour, add the baking powder, salt, yoghurt and oil. Gradually add in the warm water and knead to a soft dough. Let it sit for about 20mins, then divide the dough into 10-12 pieces. Roll each one out to about 4 inches diameter.

For soft puris proceed as follows:

Heat your oil, make sure it’s quite hot. Put in a poori in the hot oil and immediately start splashing hot oil over the top of it with a spoon.

Gently press down on the poori with the back of a wooden spoon or spatula, and you will see it start to puff up. If the poori turns dark in less than a minute, the oil is too hot. Reduce the heat of the stove. Gently press down with the spatula, and wait till it puffs completely, it should take only few seconds.

Flip the poori over and cook the other side until golden brown.

For crispy pooris proceed as follows:

After you’ve rolled out your pooris, make small slits all over them. This will stop them from puffing up, and they will stay flat and crisp. Fry them in the oil on both sides until golden and remove.

Drain on paper towels.

Chicken Cow Mein Yummmmmm

A yummilicious quick-fix meal that is full of spice and flavour

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1 pack spaghetti (approx. 400gm)
250gm chicken breast, chopped into bite-sized cubes
1 onion, sliced
1 large green capsicum, finely sliced into strips
1 large red capsicum, finely sliced into strips
2 carrots, julienned (thin strips)
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 tbsp. garlic paste
1 tsp. ginger paste
4 tbsp. oil
2 tsp. tomato paste
salt to taste
2 tbsp. soya sauce
juice of half a lemon
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. red chili powder or flakes (optional)
1 green chili, chopped
¼ cup tomato ketchup

INSTRUCTIONS

Boil the spaghetti as per the packet instructions, drain and set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok or pot, add onions and fry until they turn translucent. Add the chicken cubes followed by the ginger and garlic pastes. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the chicken is almost done. Next, add the capsicum, cabbage and carrots. Sprinkle the chili and salt. Turn the heat to low and stir-fry the mixture for a few minutes. Add the tomato paste. If needed, you can add some water at this point.

Cook until the veggies soften slightly (they should have a slight crisp to them though, so don’t over-cook). Next, add the ketchup. Stir together well, the mixture should not be watery, just slightly juicy. If needed you can add a little bit of water.

Add the boiled spaghetti and toss together to combine. Splash in the soya sauce, lemon juice and sprinkle black pepper. Mix well for a minute or two and turn the heat off.

Serve! 

Some useful tips and information

Hi everyone today I am going to give some helpful kitchen information.Its very helpful for me when I got them reading from one of the cooking magazine.I thought why not I share them with my friends N family.
Poaching Eggs

Bring a large saucepan of water to a gentle boil and add 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar per litre of water.Break an egg into a cup then gently slide it into the water. Cook until egg white has set, about 2-3 minutes.Using a slotted spoon gently remove egg from water and sit on a paper towel to drain before serving.

Pita bread

Split and cut into wedges, brush with olive oil or melted butter and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and sesame seeds. Place on baking tray and grill under medium heat until crunchy and golden brown. Store in an airtight container and warm before serving as a nibble with drinks.

Rice

1 cup of uncooked rice equals about 3 cups of cooked rice.

Butter or Margarine?

Margarine is the healthier choice. Butter is high in saturated fat, which contributes to heart disease. Margarine-style spreads are made from healthy plant oils such as olive, canola and rice bran. Make the switch today.

Standard Measures

        1 litre= 4cups

        5ml= 1tsp

       1.25ml= 1/4tsp

      2.5ml=1/2 tsp

      10ml = 2 tsp

     15ml = 3 tsp             

mouth watering sponge cake squares dipped in chocolate dip

I have tasted this amazingly lovely food at one of my friends party and fell in love with these tiny square delights.Ya i am talking about sponge cake dipped in chocolate icing and then rolled in desiccated coconut. 

As my hobby is to play with food so I try it in so different ways,You can do as well .To make these tiny treats more presentable toast it with strawberry or fresh  whipped cream and get a big Wooooooooooow from your guests. Let me start the recipe 

Ingredients

 1/2cup butter
3/4cup white sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
3 cups sugar
1/3cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp butter
1/2 milk
2 cups desiccated coconut.

                                                                                         Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350For 180C.Grease and flour 8/12 inches of pan.
2.In a bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3.In another bowl cream together 1/2 cup butter,3/4 cup sugar and the vanilla extract until creamy and fluffy.Add eggs and flour mixture with the milk and beat well.

4.Pour the batter into the pan,make sure it is evenly spread.
5.Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. Test the center of the cake by pricking toothpick in it, if it comes out clean,means its done.
Icing directions  
1.In a large bowl combine 3 cups of sugar and cocoa powder.
2.In a saucepan heat milk and 2 tbsp of butter  and add sugar and cocoa powder mixture.
3.Make a nice fluid type for dipping but it should not be runny or watery.
Coating directions
1. Cut the cake in square pieces,dip in the icing and then coat with coconut.

                                Enjoy                                                                          

Garden this winter

I love to see my garden with different coloures. Winter is going on slowly and steadily and passing it time quietly. Coming week weather is not going to be very wet.So I have decided to have some fun with sand and seeds. At the moment I want to share my three year old lemon tree with my friends.

I have always enjoyed beautiful yellow colour in my garden, another amazing thingi in my garden is a red round bulbs and green minty smelled leaves.Not only I love to grow these beauties

in my garden but also would love to enjoy the freshness of these treasures in my food.