Sunday 6 September 2015

Rasgullas!

Hi Everyone!

I am glad to share this post on rasgullas after my sucessful attempt at it.To be honest, I perfected it the third time this Friday and I am glad for not giving up so easily and for the learnings from the failed attempts that helped me come up with the right ones!

Please don't get bogged down by reading about my 3 attempts.You can and I am sure you will get it right in the first attempt only.It is very simple to make rasgullas- You will agree with me once you make your own, trust me! :-)

I never knew making rasgullas was so easy until I tried it myself! It always felt as if rasgullas were some sort of miracle food! :-)

Let me begin with the recipe first , followed by few pics of my Take:-

Ingredients:-

1 litre milk- I used Amul Taaza (Skimmed milk)-2 half litre packets
Curd- around 2 to 3 big ladle full
2 cups sugar
4 cups water
4 drops of kewra essence or cardamom powder
4-5 ice cubes

Note :- No.of cups of sugar= no.of half litre milk packets used & Water =2* No.of Sugar cups

Main Requirements  :-

Muslin cloth
Food Processor
Presure cooker

Procedure :-


  1. Bring the milk to a boil, simmer to the lowest flame and start adding curd with continuous stirring till the milk curdles completely and the whey water clearly separates. You will begin to see the water turning yellow to green and a thick chenna -milk precipitates formation in the pan. Turn off the flame.
  2. Add the ice cubes and mix well. Ice cubes are added to prevent further curdling of milk.Also helps to keep the chenna soft.
  3. Put  a muslin cloth over a pan/any milk container.Pour the curdled milk  in it. The whey water will seep through the muslin cloth into the container and the chenna will be left on the muslin cloth.You can use the whey water in kneading the dough or making dals as it is has a high nutritive value.
  4. Wash the chenna well in the running water under the RO/Water purifier tap.This helps to remove the smell and sourness from the chenna.
  5. Squeeze the excess water gently from the muslin cloth and hang it for 30 mins.
  6. After half an hour , take out the chenna and process it in food processor until it comes out as in one cluster and is bit greasy.
  7. Make a smooth round of it and cover it up with the wet muslin cloth to prevent it from drying and becoming hard.
  8. Make small , smooth  round balls and keep them covered with the muslin cloth.
  9. Take a pressure cooker, add sugar and water in it.Bring the sugar syrup to a boil and then slid  all the  rasgulla balls together into it. Cover the pressure cooker and cook till you get one whistle .After a whistle , simmer to the lowest flame and keep it for another 5 minutes.
  10. Turn off the flame and when the pressure gets released by its own , then open the lid to see the rasgullas- they would have doubled in size.
Enjoy them hot or serve them chilled!-As you wish!
Can also make rasmalai using the rasgullas
Note- 
1.You can prepare the sugar syrup simultaneously while making the rounds to save time.
2. Many recipes use 1 tbsp of semolina/rava/sooji too for binding purpose. I tried using it in my earlier versions but this one came out well without using it.So I thought why to complicate the recipe. 


Total time required :1 to 1 hour & 15 mins.

Few pictures of my take  :-




                                                                    Hung Chenna


Processed Chenna


Smooth Chenna Ball


Rasgulla balls covered with muslin cloth


Rasgulla balls just before sliding into the pressure cooker


Rasgulla is ready !The size doubles on opening the lid of the pressure cooker


Rasgullas in the serving bowl


Devour!:-)


Have a soft & smooth bite! :-)

Do try! You'll love yourself for making it! :-)

Best thing about these rasgullas are that these are healthy too as I have used skimmed milk.Over and above it's simple- you just need milk and sugar- need not have to buy special ingredients for it!

And the pleasure of making home made rasgullas is unmatched.

Happy Takes! & Happy Bites! 

P.S- Would be glad if you share your experiences too. :)


Sunday 2 August 2015

Oats and Banana Cake : Friendship Day Special!

"Friendship is sharing recipes with your friends to gladden their hearts ."

This post is a real celebration of Friendship.

Let me start with the story behind the post first :-

I got this recipe from a dearest aunty, who I lovingly address as my Chef Guru. Madhabi Aunty is a great cook, there's magic in her hands...whatever she cooks , tastes a mouthwatering Wow! To a greater extent it is because she cooks with a magic ingredient- Love; her love for cooking and not just cooking but cooking FOR her near and dear ones makes all the difference and then she has also perfected the art of cooking through her frequent and interesting experiments in the kitchen.Whenever you meet her,you'll get something interesting to learn about cooking ranging from an idea to a new recipe.She's indeed a Living Cookbook. :-)

Also, I would like to describe how I got this recipe from her.
I knew that she'll be sending the recipe but I also knew that  she was recovering from a recent surgery on her left arm,so I was not expecting it so soon.
It so happened that last Wednesday I read an article about an investment broker cum baker in ET and while reading about his passion and love for baking , I got transported to my own world of baking and started dreaming of baking a cake when Madhabi Aunty's oats and banana cake came into my mind as I started thinking of what to bake and it was all so momentary that the next moment I found myself getting into some official work. And you won't believe, as I came back to my desk during lunch time, I saw I have few whatsApp msgs on my mobile and there IT was!-The recipe! :-) Yes! My happiness knew no bounds at that moment.It was as if the whole universe conspired to make my dream come true and that too so soon!!!! At times , you really get lucky or may be there really is something to special connections.

So, when I saw the recipe , I had made up my mind that I'll try this one for Friendship Day and here is what it turned out to be- Simply Yum! :-)

 It has a brown bottom


and an oats covered crust.

Another view of the top and bottom together.


Here's the recipe:-

Ingredients:-

For the batter:-

3/4 cups maida ( refined flour)
1 and  1/3 cups oats
1/4 tsp  salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup mashed bananas (Approximately-3 big ones)
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter

For the oats spread :-

3/4 cup oats
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

Procedure:-

1.Mix all the ingredients of the batter and pour it in the baking tin.
2.Mix all the ingredients of the oats spread and spread this mixture evenly on the cake batter.
3. Now bake the cake & enjoy!

Note:-
1. Try to use soft and ripe bananas
2. I baked at 180 deg Celsius for 40 mins.

Result:-

This cake is unique in its taste and texture.The oat crust makes it more interesting and adds to a unique crunchy cum buttery cum sugary oats flavour.
The oats and banana combination does the trick in terms of giving it an amazing taste.
It is one of the best cakes I have ever tried.Do try if you love this combination.Trust me,you will fall in love with this one!

Happy Takes! & Happy Bites!





Wednesday 17 June 2015

Eggless Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake

Hello Everyone!

A dear friend is visiting me today, so I thought of baking a cake for her and ended up making this wonderful eggless wholewheat chocolate cake.

I have seriously adopted the healthy & tasty theme and am very happy to acknowledge that you really don't have to compromise on the taste with whole wheat cakes.In fact in this one it's really hard to tell that it's whole wheat based.You just cannot find out from the taste.

I loved this cake because :-

1.It uses 100% whole wheat flour.
2.The baking ingredients used are simple and mostly available in the kitchen.Water, lime juice and baking soda does the trick in baking it.You don't need to worry if there are eggs or curd or milk or condensed milk (the usual baking ingredients) in store or not.
3.All in all, a very simple , healthy and tasty cake.

I loved it to say the least.It's the best chocolate cake recipe I have ever come across which is a perfect blend of simple and healthy ingredients.

Recipe link -http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/basic-eggless-chocolate-cake-recipe/

Here's my Take!





Note:- I baked it at 180 deg Celsius and my cake was ready in 20 mins.
Happy Takes! & Happy Bites! 

Friday 5 June 2015

Eggless Whole Wheat Banana Cake



Hello everyone!

Today, my instincts got me to try this super awesome, healthy and utterly delicious banana cake.

I was craving for a genuine banana cake since the last few days but was a bit undecided on trying banana bread first or the cake.Finally, I gave in to the strong urge that prompted me to go for baking banana cake first. :-)

I was actually looking for an interesting healthier version as "Healthy & Tasty" is one theme that makes me cook guilt free without compromising on the taste-most important ! :-)

I am glad I came across this super awesome recipe :-

http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/eggless-banana-cake-recipe/

I found it very simple, the ingredients used were all very healthy and in the right quantity and proportion. This one is indeed a very healthy cake.In fact not only healthy but very "Tasty " as well. The gooey banana layer on the cake gives it a sandwich look where the bottom most layer looks like it is stuffed with a thick layer of banana pulp but the remaining cake is porous and well baked. The banana pulp gives it a unique texture and an amazing flavour.Spice it up with cinnamon powder and chopped walnuts to go bananas with this remarkable banana cake!

My version of the recipe :-

I used 6 elaichi bananas instead of the normal ones and around half a cup of cold milk to bring the batter to pouring consistency. My cake was ready in 30 mins. No other changes were made.

I also tried toasting the cake slices and trust me , it tasted even better and all my family members loved the toasted version. :-)
Here's the pic -



I highly recommend this one.One of the best tea-time cakes  I have ever had. In fact I feel this cake will very well go with the icing and decorations as well as it has a very stable base.

Happy Takes! & Happy Bites!



Sunday 10 May 2015

Eggless Apple Pie : Mother's Day Special!




"All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my Angel Mother."

A very happy mother's day people!

I know it's a very special day for all of us and I am glad we have a day to celebrate mothers! For those who dislike the mother's day concept, I have just one thing to say- We love celebrating Mother's day and making our mothers feel special today and that does not mean we just don't bother about her for the rest of the days! Those of you who don' t agree  to this, you can continue to argue and we will continue to celebrate and we all know who wins! :-) :-)

God, I seriously don't understand why people question celebration?!!
Celebration of any kind is such a good thing! We will celebrate , anyway! :-)

Well, my mother is my best friend,  my angel, my guide and my inspiration and the best thing is that she is a part of all my cooking escapades.Her touch and approval completes my experiments in the kitchen.
I owe my interest in cooking to her.When we were kids, she used to bake cakes, biscuits, pizzas, patties, make ice creams and try out new -new recipes every now and then.Her involvement in cooking ignited the spark in me to cook and the spark has led me to take cooking as my passion.

Mamma and I  are hard core gourmets as well and love experimenting with food and I find that we have similar choice and taste when it comes to food- which is another great aspect to our Mother- Daughter bond-our food connection! :-)

Now coming back to my mother's day special apple pie experiment :-

I wanted to make something special today and suddenly it struck that Apple Pie will go well with the theme of day- Apple pie for the Apple of my eye! :-)

I remember having a sumptuous home-made Apple pie made by my dearest aunt almost 10 years back , and since that day, I wanted to try making apple pie someday and thankfully it was today that I finally made it- I was feeling too lazy to hunt for my aunt's recipe , so I just googled and came across a recipe that i found interesting enough to experiment with and it turned out to be a real good one.

This one is very healthy as it is whole wheat flour based, is eggless and contains very little sugar and olive oil.All in all very low in calories and high on taste! -Yes, it tasted awesome! The only thing that I felt I could improve on is the shape, the folding of the two layers...but otherwise this recipe was great- very easy and yummylicious!

The only thing that I changed in this was that I chopped smaller cubes of apple.That's it.

Recipe Link- http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/apple-pie-recipe-vegan-apple-pie/

Go for it!

Happy Takes ! & Happy Bites!

Monday 4 May 2015

Eggless Whole Wheat Cinnamon Cake


I tried this healthy cake today and it came out really well.
I wanted to make an eggless cake and a healthy one for that and when I came across this recipe, I found it was matching my criteria perfectly well.

This healthy bite is a real melting moment.It is very moist and very Indian in texture and taste.My 87 year old grand ma completely loved it.She said this is the best eggless cake she has ever had.Her compliment really made my day!

I personally would like to call it a perfect healthy Indian Cake.
This one will surely satiate your taste buds if you are all for the cinnamon flavour , moreover you can have a guilt-free cakey treat with this! :-)

Recipe Link- http://mariasmenu.com/desserts/eggless-cinnamon-cake

Do try and enjoy!
Happy Takes! & Happy Bites! 

Saturday 14 March 2015

Baked Gujiyas-Holi Special!

Hello Everyone!

I have been wanting to share so many of my recent culinary experiences so desperately, but somehow last two weeks were reasonably busy for me and I couldn't do so. :-(
Never mind, finally I made it here, today! :-)

This time we had Mama and Nani for Holi and as Mamma and I were about to start our customary Gujiya preparation, Mama just mentioned that these days people are shifting their preferences from fried to baked gujiyas and that very moment I decided let's go for "Baked" gujiyas this Holi!-All thanks to Mama for uttering the word!- You never know when and where you can get a tempting clue to work upon! :-)

So then I searched on the net , read few Gujiya baking procedures and finally made all forms of Gujiyas- Chandrakalas, Lawanglatas, Satori. Chandrakala is a round flower shaped gujiya which has khoya stuffing , is fried and then dipped in Sugar syrup (Chashni) and immediately taken out of the syrup.  Lawanglata is also a wrapped maida round stuffed with khoya with two cloves inserted one opposite the other-I call it clutch purse gujiya!-It really looks like a clutch purse! This is also dipped in sugar syrup and taken out immediately.
Chandrakalas and Lawanglatas are actually my Nani special gujiyas! :-)
Satori is a Maharashtrian delicacy.It is basically Puri sized stuffed khoya paratha which is tawa roasted in ghee.I learned this from a dear friend.

I thought we'll make all of these shapes including the traditional gujiya shape but we'll make the baked version of it, this time- healthier and I can now very confidently say, tastier too! :-)

Baked version is way better than the fried one -it's crispier, lighter , tastier and most importantly an healthier alternative!

Do try and relish!


Baking Procedure:-

  1. Prepare the khoya stuffed structures in the same way as we make it for making fried gujiyas. The only difference is that we just bake these instead of frying.
  2. Preheat the oven at 200 deg Celsius.
  3. Grease a baking tray and place gujiyas on it in such a way that they don't touch each other.
  4. Bake for 10 minutes and then flip the gujiyas to the other side on the tray.
  5. Bake the other side for 10 mins again.
  6. Take out .The Gujiyas are ready! :-)
Happy Takes! & Happy Bites! :-)

Thursday 19 February 2015

Coconut Doughnut Cake


Hello, everyone!

Here's my first blogpost in this blog-i have been thinking since ages to start a food blog , just to give an outlet to my passion for cooking and love for food.I'm glad, i finally did come up with one! :-)

Hoping to have fun here...to share everything related to cooking and food that interests me .

I must say, cooking and food drives me, rejuvenates me, excites me, heals me when i feel low or have a bad day-in short it makes me feel completely alive!


Now coming back to this post...

I was just leisurely enjoying my holiday , when suddenly I had a strong craving to have something made out of coconut milk powder or something with coconut....so i just searched and searched on the net to find some good recipes.I was basically thinking of using the maggi coconut milk powder in the cake recipe.I did a lot of random search on it and did land up with a cake recipe that was using coconut milk powder but somehow i didn't feel like going with it...and somehow I landed up at this food blog:-

http://www.nisahomey.com/2011/11/my-ultimate-coconut-cakestep-by-step.html

As soon as I finished reading it, I knew i wanted to bake this.Yes, you have got it right-I am a very moody cook-i basically go with my instincts when it comes to cooking...and most of the times, even i don't know what i'll be cooking next. :-)...It always has to be something that I feel like having at that particular time. :-)


For the recipe- please check out the link above. I loved the recipe.It's completely accurate. Thumbs Up to it!

Happy Takes! & Happy Bites! :-)

P.S- I have just changed the name to suit the shape. :-)