The day my baby flew back 9/11

My baby finally flew back safely.. 9/11

Another preceding day began, my mode of excitement for work is never constant as usual yet never less than gratified. I rushed to work knowing little what this day would bring to me. Truly said, expect the unexpected. The day progressed on working through certain new project. I was occupied with setting material up in the kitchen. No thought at all. Just going with the flow.

The day flew by effortlessly. At the end my colleague and I decided to make ourselves a little treat to celebrate the end of the project . We started working on making ourselves a little some thing to satisfy our appetite. Working through the treat process and that's when it happened, my baby flew right back! Over joyed and excited; I jumped smiling ear to ear. I couldn't believe it had happened, I proudly announced it to everyone who entered the room, "Look what the day brought to me!"

After all the staring eyes ,smiling and cheers that my baby spread across the room. I took a moment alone, which held still.. baby and I just gazed at each other. I slowly caressed my hand on the soft golden skin which triggered a certain indescribable spark inside of me. 

Like fat burger with double cheese, like a sip of cold coke with a huge bite of biryani, like cold air creeping in through your blanket in a winter night,like diet coke with stuffed crust pizza, like the new shoe in store, like a bucket of triple chocolate ice cream on a lazy night...Like harry met sally.. Yes! Like harry met sally.. Except this was the ending, I gently picked up the ganache pot that was prepared earlier as part of the "treat" and poured chocolate all over my baby... Lots of it, couldn't care less what anyone thought. I stared at how the ganache dripped from ends of the shoulders. My baby sat there gloriously.

My senses couldn't wait to get hold of every part that held that glazing chocolate. I stepped away a little, while my baby layed there smothered in rich creamy chocolat. I slowly moved towards my colleague, leaned over her to pick up the fork and a knife lying behind her... I nervously approached my baby and gently cut through my baby. Today was the day my baby crepe flipped tossed in the air and right back into the arms of my pan. After several tries, finally, here we are. What an end to my day.

I will forget you not 9/11


Watch out for diy baby in ganache ;)

-A xx

Beef / Chicken Gourmet burger

In one of my classes I made Beef gourmet and my classmate made Chicken gourmet burgers. For those who don't like Beef, you can follow the exact same recipe for a great homemade gourmet burger!:)

We also sauted Red Cabbage with a few other ingredient for extra flavors to our burger

Add Olive oil to a pan and pop in sliced red Cabbage,salt,red chili flakes honey,vinegar,lemon drops and coriander seeds to the pan.

Ingredients

150 g Mince- Beef or Chicken

1/4 onion- minced

cheddar cheese- Slice or shredded

1 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp red chili

1tsp salt

Mustard paste

Method

Add onion,coriander seeds,red chili,honey and mustard paste to you minced Beef/Chicken. Mix well.

Make a patty of your mix and make a whole right in the center and stuff your cheese in it for a suprise burst of cheese at half way through!:D. Do not go all the way through ,as that could lead to the cheese melting away while cooking(yes, happened to me:( ) Regardless, you could always cover with extra meat at the bottom. Even then mine broke, I'm a bit clumsy like that!

Fry your burger mix in oil. Cover with lid for the buger to cook in steam. Keep a check and flip the burger one its nicely cooked.

For sides:

French fries/wedges

Boil your potato, to make them soften. peel the potato. I'd liek a little skin on for a traditional flavor and texture. Cut them up the way you like it wedge style or french style. Deep fry and sprinkle salt,pepper and red chilli

Plate up!

Oh dear so much to choose from! the ketchup and mayo are essential . Take a look at my Mayo ozzing Beef burger in and out and My class mate's Beautiful Chicken gourmet with ozzing cheese in the middle!

Bonn Appetite

Dripping drooling ozzing -ly yours!

-A-

Chocolate Ricotta/ Paneer pot

If you remember how we made the mixture for the cannoli and if you've tried that,than this one will be almost ctrl + c and ctrl + v :)!

Traditionally this dish is usually cooked in an oven, but my post is alot easier and less time consuming. Recipe ahead

Ingredients

1/2 pat paneer

150g chocolate

1 Pear (slice quarter and mince half) eat the rest

2tbsps crea,

2tbsps honey

2 tbsps sugar

1 tbsps almonds (alternative: pine nuts)

2 tbsp flour

Dusting : Icing sugar

Method:

Caramalizing pear:

Add sugar and melt it in you saute pan.

Add your sliced pear with 1tbsp of honey and pinch of chili flakes and stir it and cover your pear and cook till it changes color.

Mixture:

First melt the 150 g unsweetned chocolate in a pan. Instead of using a ban-maire make your life easier by just breaking you chocolate into a pan and melt it on a medium heat and keep an eye on it to avoid burning it.

In a bowl add the half pat of paneer .(add lovely essence to the dessert) and mix it

Add your diced pear and 1tbsp of honey into the bowl and mix well

Add 2 tbsp of fresh cream

Add the melted chocolate into the bow and gentely FOLD. Don't worry about the chunky bits,try and break a little bit. rest will just add to the texture.

Add 2-4 tbsp of flour again depending on the texture you desire and fold everything together.

Now, add that to your pot and cover it with a newspaper and use a thread around it to hold it. My teacher helped me use a rubberband(Rubberbands creep me out...let's not go there) for those of you weirdos like me you could use a thread to hold the newspaper together.

Fill a saute pan with water and place your pot/pots in boiling water and cover with a lid. Let it heat and cook in steam. The newspaper will absorb all the moisture. Remove once you notice alot of  moisture releasing.

Plate up!!

I used cream in the center and almonds for garnish also used the caramalized pear as you can see. play with your creative senses and blow your self away! this dish is better served after it's chilled.

You can also bake it for a slightly harder and baked texture of your dessert. If you want a rising you could add 2 tsp of baking powder to your mixture and into the oven. You're garaunteed to get a rising finish

Cannoli a little devilish

Cannolo is a sicilian pastry dessert. They are also popular in Italian American cuisine and in united states known as a italian pastry. Cannoli are tube-shaped shells fried in pastry dough,filled with something sweet and creamy.Traditionally ricotta cheese  is one of the main ingredients in the filling along with whipped cream.

This recipe has a slight twist from how it's originally made and one of its special ingredient would be my biggest affair in life.

Making it is a slight lenghty process but yet again an easy one. I'd suggest when making anything specially desserts have your indgreditents measured out and kept ready for preparation.

Before we proceed to the recipe, let me introduce you to my guilty pleasure and like I said biggest affair in life. Meet Chocolate:) who's had a million billion affairs since  it first belonged to the ancient civilizations who considered chocolate as precious as gold.Well, almost. It found its way to Europe and thanks to Josephy Fry & son who invented the first chocolate candy bar; Since then bribing every age group has become so much easier!

That was a brief of it's history as for my affair...that would take an entire post which I will share sometime soon!:) Recipe time!!

Fusion Chocolate Cannoli

Ingredients:

Bowl of flour (method includes measurements)

1.5 tbsp butter

1tsp vinegar

100 ml water

oil for frying

1 pear (mince half)

150g unsweetened cooking chocolate

2tbsps honey

1.5 tsp red chili flakes

1.5 tsp cumin

1/2 pat of paneer (fresh cheese)

4 tbsps Fresh cream(recommended to keep more incase)

Icing sugar

Method:

Preparing the filling:

First melt the 150 g unsweetned chocolate in a pan. Instead of using a ban-maire(double boiler) make your life easier by just breaking you chocolate into a pan and melt it on a medium heat and keep an eye on it to avoid burning it.

In a bowl add the half pat of paneer .(add lovely essence to the dessert) and mix it

Add your diced pear and 1tbsp of honey into the bowl and mix well

Add 2 tbsp of fresh cream

Add the melted chocolate into the bow and gentely FOLD. Don't worry about the chunky bits,try and break a little bit. rest will just add to the texture.

You could add extra cream depending on the thickness you want. I used about 4 tbsp. You need not worry about mixing well, just fold. The bits of cream that you might notice will also at texture to the mixture.

Preparing the crust

Separate an egg white and beat it well

Add 4 Tbsp of flour to a separate mixing bowl

Add the beaten egg to the 4 tbsp of flour and mix

add 4 tbsp of flour and add 50 ml of water. Mix

Add 2 tbsp of icing sugar while mixing the dough

Add 2 tbsp of flour and rest 50 ml of water and mix

To examine if your dough is ready, poke your finger into the batter and make sure that the mixture doesnt stick to your finger. If it does add 2 more tbsp of flour.

In total I used 12 tbsp of flour

Essentially 4 tbsps are used but now you need to test your skills to make the right dough. Pull of little batter and roll it out on your board till you can see through the dough; Need not make it too large.. Specially for a first try don't stress on the shape too much, you'll get around to it.

Tricky one. How to maintain the shape of the cannoli. Don't have the cannoli shaper? Use something simpler and at home! We decided to make a cannoli shaper out of a disposal foil box and roll the batter on the foil shaping a canolo

See what I mean?

Take a deep frying pan. Let the oil heat up and careffuly place the roll in the pan. You'll see it browning, don't let it burn just try and get the crisp texture on it.

Canolo may fry very quick don't over fry it else it'll become soggy. You'd want to maintain the crisp texture for serving.

After taking out the cannolo from the fryer, carefully pull out the foil; Don't wait too long for the cannolo to cool completely, a fearless act and pull out the foil while it's still a little hot.

Fill your canolli with the mixture with a pipping bag or just by using a spoon. I used a spoon.

Plate up!!

Bon Apettite:)!

Chocolate drippingly yours

-A-

Wonder or blunder?! Lassi experimenting!

Oh summer! As much as I love the way you turn around fashion this season, you're not working so well for me. As much as I love having the red Popsicles and chilled fruit juices or lemonades, you're killing me. Alright alright, I'll get over it already!

Yogurt is, by far, the best product used to cool off during the summer – ice creams, sorbets or some frozen yogurt. One of the easiest homemade drinks in the sub-continent is Lassi. Not only is it delicious, it is extremely healthy and is often considered a great drink to beat the heat.

Lassi can be made in many different ways, usually by adding herbs, spices or fruits for flavor. The most common ones are the sweet and the salty Lassi. A “Pure Lassi” is made with milk and yogurt and topped with a thin layer of malai, a clotted cream, also known as Devonshire cream.

The Lassi I decided to prepare was with strawberries (my favorite summer fruit) and cinnamon. Although, Lassi is usually made with either cumin or cardamom, I decided to go with cinnamon – just out of a bit curiosity.

Ingredients:

Yogurt

Milk

Strawberries

Salt/sugar/honey

Cinnamon- small piece for flavor

Ice

Method:

Lassi can be made as per taste; add sugar if you please, only a small pinch of salt and strawberries according to how flavored you want your drink. Blend these items along with some crushed ice and voila! A chilled strawberry Lassi is ready.

A verdict on my lassi - it tastes different, I wouldn't say it’s excellent but it was chilled and a surprise to my taste buds. Nevertheless, I recommend you try it or if you prefer, follow the same steps and make a mint lassi excluding the cinnamon and strawberries. If cinnamon is you thing, go ahead and add it but cumin and cardamom are great alternatives.

Simplest recipe: yogurt, milk and sugar (or salt) depending how you want it to taste. Salt is the “lighter” option. On the other hand, if you decide to go with the sweet Lassi, make sure you serve them with some PARATHAS. Yes, those lovely street parathas! 

Money saving tip:

If you're going to need a glass of lassi everyday you are obviously going to make sure of a lot of yogurt on daily basis so you might as well make your own extra yogurt at home and save some extra bucks. It’s super simple!

Heat 1 litre of milk; as it comes to a steam switch your heat off. Let it cool for a few minutes and add 4 Tbsp of yogurt. Let it cool in the fridge (I had kept it outside but preferably in the fridge).

You've got more than a litre of yogurt for half the price! Personally, I prefer the taste of homemade yogurt to the packed ones we get outside. If you feel 4 Tbsp is not enough, you can always add a bit of extra yogurt while preparing it.

Enjoy!!

Heat beating-ly yours

-A-

South Indian Thali!

I’m a proud Pakistani and I love my cuisine.

Like all of us I grew up saying what all Pakistanis say “My mom makes the best biryani!” . In general, we also believe that our food is better than any other “Desi” cuisine…particularly the Indian Cuisine and we don’t just believe that, we’ve been instilled with this very thought in general .

A very unpleasant picture just like the bogey man my mom used to scare me with to get me to sleep. As I grew up I realized the crazy bogey man image was just as ridiculous as the misconception about Indian Cuisine. Only difference is the enlightenment in my knowledge about Indian Cuisine, South Indian in particular was a recent incident.

Thanks to Poppy Agha, Before 2 decades of my existence had passed I discovered what I was missing.

My 5th week at PCI - as fast and wonderfully as they've gone by, I must be honest, I wasn't looking forward to my South Indian basics class because of the concept I've grown up with.

Our class began like always with a little flash back of the heritage and the divisions of South India and North India and their range of sub and main cuisines. It helps set the mood while also helping us understand the difference in cuisines cooked earlier hence making it easier to understand different methods and techniques that can be used with similar ingredients. As our counters were setup, I was a little put off by the amount of coconut oil (essential part of South Indian food) and coconut put across. But I didn’t let that deter me – I proceeded to cook up a gorgeous looking Thali and read on to find out how it tasted.

Thali:

Chettinad Chicken Khuzambu (Wet sauce-Tamil Cuisine)

Rasam

Maddur Vada

Pongol

Before starting, we made our own mixed spice also called Milagai Thool, essentially used in any South Indian house which we Pakistani’s refer to as garam masala.

Melagai thool:

Ingredients:

4 dried red chilies

2tsps coriander seed

1 tsp. black peppercorn

2 tsp. zeera

1/2 tsp. methi/fenugreek

4 curry leaves

1/2 tsp. turmeric

Method:

Roast the all the spices except the turmeric as it cooks faster. Once you notice the zeera changing color turn off heat and pop them in the blender with you turmeric and grind them and keep aside.

Chettinad Chicken Khuzambu

Ingredients

Chicken boneless- Cut into bite size pieces

2tbsps Ginger- Slice half a ginger and Mince finely (Cut into very small pieces)

5 baby onions-all cut into half

2 green chilies- slit the chili

2 tsps. dried red chilies

2 tsps coriander powder

2 tbsps. Grated coconut

2 tbsps. Cashew nuts- roughly chop

1 piece cinnamon (Daal Cheeni)

1 tsp. fennel seeds

2 cloves

1tbsp fresh mint

2 curry leaves 

4 garlic pods - Minced finely (very tiny pieces)

Coconut Oil

Milagae Thool

Method:

Add Coconut oil in a deep pan cover the bottom layer, add garlic, ginger, 2tbsp of mixed spices, coriander powder, dried chilli, grated coconut, fenel seeds then add chicken and mix till it coats the chicken.

Add half cup of water, onions, green chili and cinnamon stick and mix well then add one tbsp. of coconut powder leveled.

Before serving add a little water for it to blend.

My take:

When the coconut oil was cooking, it was a very different aroma to take in for me but it gradually wears on you and the end result, chettinad Chicken was delicious! It had a completely different taste then our normal chicken curry.

Rasam:

Ingredients:

2 tbsps. Tomato paste

1 tsp. tamarind paste- Imli (dissolve this in a cup of water)

2 pods garlic- minced

1 dried red chili

4 curry leaves

1tbsp coriander leaves

1 tsp. mustard seeds

1 tsp. cumin/zeera ground

1tsp black peppercorns ground

3tsp brown sugar or Gurr

Method:

Add 2 Tbsp. of coconut oil, garlic, tomato paste and 2 cups of water.

Add red chili, 1 tsp. salt and brown sugar and stir slowly.

Add 2 curry leaves, Milagae Thool and 1tsp of brown sugar. Let it cook

Ending it with a "Tarka" basically means to season by popping spices in a pan and adding to the dish.

In another pan, add 1tsp mustard seed, 1tsp zeera, 2 curry leaves. Just when the spices release a lovely smell. Pop them into the Rasam. Don't stir. Stir slightly while serving to maintain the flavors of the Tarka.

My take:

It’s like a hint of lovely Indian tomato soup! I absolutely loved it. Apparently what we cooked is just an easier version of Rasam.  Regardless, I'm a fan! This dish is served for/with any meal, eaten hot or cold as a main dish with rice preferably Pongol (one type you'll learn ahead) or appetizer. Suit yourself;]!

Maddur Vadda

Vadda is traditionally made from dal, lentil, gram flour or potato.

The Vadda I made is known as Maddur Vadda made from onion.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mixed flour- rice flour/maida / sooji

1tsp cumin seeds

2-3 green chilies- chopped small

2 baby onions- 2 minced finely and 1 sliced (to keep the texture)

2-5 tbsp. of coconut oil

Method:

To a bowl of flour pop in minced and sliced onions add cumin and add 2-3 tbsp. of water. It's like making a kebab, do not over add the water as it will make the batter too sticky. Add half tsp. of salt.

Add green chili and mix.

Take portions of the batter and make flattened Vaddas'. They need not be in a perfect shape just traditionally flatter than the kebabs.

Fry them in 2 tbsp. of coconut and 4 tbsp. of normal oil. We combined two oils just so the entire Thali doesn't have the same aroma or similar flavor. Fry them until they are brown on both sides just like in the picture.

My take:

I wasn't too sure about the Vadda's. I don't eat Pakora's or onion rings with pleasure yet I had a go at my Vadda’s like there’s no tomorrow! I dipped them in Rasam and they were just so scrumptious!

Best for Last!

Pongol

I am a fan of rice! I like rice with all my curry meals or anything that goes! I can even eat yogurt and plain rice! My brothers often tell me I was adopted from a Bengali family which means all types of rice are welcomed to be tried out by me!

Ingredients:

Rice- half cup dipped in water for at least 30 minutes

Coconut oil and cooking oil

Ginger quarter minced

4 garlic pods- minced

1tsp of Milagai Thool

Add 2 tbsp. of coconut oil and 2 tbsp. of cooking oil. Add ginger and garlic. Drain water out and add the rice to the pan. Add Milagai Thool and half cup water. Mix

Let this cook, as soon as you see the water is reducing add half cup more. You'll notice in a minute while stirring that your rice has started to expand. Just as more water is absorbed, add half cup more and stir. Repeat it if needed one last time, it should be expanded and sticking together in luscious shades of pink and brown.

My take:

Oh dear!! You don't need any curry or anything to have with it! It’s that good!! I tried with the Chettinad Chicken and also with the Rasam. It tasted divine with both. I specially loved it with the Rasam. It's crazy how Rasam can be eaten/served in so many ways!

Overall take on the Thali

It was a wonderful dish; however we did not use asafetida also known as hing which is widely used for South Indian cuisines. That might be a huge jump of cultures. However, This Modernize Thaali that we made was not only a surprise to my taste buds but also a distinctive Desi experience. I'm definitely looking forward to trying out other endless range of cuisine our neighboring country has to offer us.

Picture by Niha.H Dagia

Bon Appetite

Bubble bursting-ly yours

-A-

Continuing comfort food...

Supreme Trifle

This might be disappointing but I have no story or deep thoughts on trifles except that this recipe is exactly how it was originally made with a little add ons here and there. The only thought in my head when I think 'trifle' is that it has got to be rich in texture and a crazy adventure till the bottom of the glass. Almost like Christmas - surprises till it ends.

Ingredients:

Milk

Cream

Egg Yolks

Sugar

Chocolate

Sponge

Fruit- Strawberries/pears/pineapple from a tin

Biscuit crumble

Mint

Flour

Method:

Crumble up your sponge cake into a sauce pan and squeeze half an orange on it.. Just enough to be soaked on by most of the pieces. Pieces of chocolate were also added for flavor sake. It may not necessarily coat all the pieces. That way it'll add texture to the layering.

In another sauce pan, caramelize your pear by adding sugar to it. Repeat with strawberries in separate pans.

Custard:

Mix 1 cup milk and 2 tbsp. flour together. Put it on a low heat till it comes to a boil. Whisk 1.5-2 egg yolks and very slowly add these to your pan while mixing at the same speed. Make sure you do that slowly to avoid lumps and making an actual omelet out of the custard. Pour in very gently while mixing vigorously.  Add mint for color. Stir till it's as thick as you want it.

Plating up!

First goes in the sponge then strawberries, squeeze orange on the caramelized pear and pop that in, little custard, cream, pineapple...Repeat till your dish is almost full and garnish it with mint for color and a fresh start to all the lovely flavors that every bite holds!:)

Bon Appetite

Endless flavor digging-ly yours

-A-

Death by chocolate

Chocolate ganache Pot with a strawberry surprise

What can I say about Chocolate that’s not already been said? Whenever summer love leaves me... its chocolate that stays with me throughout the year; bringing a smile to my face.

For now I’ll just stop at that. I will probably dedicate an entire post to chocolate later but I must add that Ganache does great justice to chocolate. It's a glaze, icing or filling made from chocolate and cream. Imagine that! Ganache goes back to the year 1850, invented in either Switzerland or France. Whoever it was, he/she did leave me upsizing and wanting it more and more.

Let's move on and bring a smile on that face!

Ingredients

Chocolate-semi sweet or bitter sweet (I used dark-bittersweet)

Digestive biscuits

Fresh cream

Sugar

Gelatin Powder

Butter

Strawberries

Brown sugar

Lemon Juice

Mint

Method:

For a biscuit base:

Crush the biscuits well - add them into a sauce pan and add 1.5 tbsp. of butter and mix well. (Add butter according to how well the crust has mixed; less or more depends on your serving) You can add cinnamon for an extra (surprise) flavor to your base.

After mixing well, empty it out in a pot and layer it well (I used a serving pot). You could turn it into a Chocolate Ganache Pie by using a spring tin by serving it completely scooped out. You could also scoop it out while make it into a pot (might need a little expertise).

Freeze the base.

Sautéing Strawberries:

Caramelizing strawberries, yummy! I love doing this. The water strawberry releases combined with sugar is just amazing!

Cut the strawberries into half (again depending on your serving) - I cut around 2 and half for my pot. Add one tbsp. of brown sugar and one tbsp. of white sugar. Add drops of lemon juice.

Cook until the strawberries release water and the melted sugar is completely coated onto your strawberries. You'll notice your strawberry texture change.

Preparing the Ganache:

I heated half cup of cream in one sauce pan.

I melted the dark chocolate on another pan by adding pieces of chocolate with tbsp. of sugar and 1-2 tbsp. of butter.  Make sure you keep a watch on the chocolate as it could burn easily. Cook on medium-low heat and stir. Remove as soon as the chocolate has melted.

Add the chocolate to the cream sauce pan and mix well.

Once that's combined well, turn the heat off for the next step.

While stirring in the lovely glossy ganache, add 2 tsp. of gelatin powder. Do not do this over the heat as it'll create lumpy texture.

Final cooking step

Add your caramelized strawberries to you ganache and fold. I love how the tart flavor the sauce released during the caramelizing process and added to the lovely ganache. Just looking at it made me drool and writing about it is worse! In fact, once I'm done, I'm treating myself. Considering I've gone an entire day without sweet ;)

Next post - Supreme Trifle

Lovingly yours

-A-