Mango Shrikand

Ingredients:

Mango – 3/4 cup, peeled and roughly chopped

Sour cream – 1 cup + 1/4 cup

Sugar – 3 tbsp

Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp

Saffron – 1/8 tsp

Milk – 1 tbsp

Method:

• Add saffron to warm milk and set aside, till the milk comes to room temperature
• In a mixie jar add mangoes, cardamom powder, saffron milk
• Blend till the mango becomes a smooth paste
• Add sour cream to the jar, mix well with a spoon with a spoon and pulse it once. Shrikand is ready

Mango Cheese Cake:

What you’ll need: 

Pulp of 2.5 ripe mangoes

500 gms of Full fat cream cheese

100 gms of whipping cream

1 packet of salted biscuits (preferable crackers or digestive biscuits)

2 eggs (beaten)

1 cup of castor sugar

75 gms butter

 

Method:

1. Put the pulp of 2.5 mangoes in the fridge. Meanwhile, take the cream cheese and whip it with a beater or a whisker for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add whipping cream and sugar and keep beating it.
3. Add the eggs and whip it more until it gets thick.
4. Add the mango pulp to this and whisk it more.
5. For the base, pulverise the biscuits by putting it in a Ziploc and beating it. Pour it in a bowl and add melted butter to it. Keep mixing until it gets a consistency like that of a dough.
6. Take a baking pan and base it with biscuit-butter mix.
7. Add the mango consistency and bake it in the oven for 20 minutes under 180 degrees.
8. Let it cool and then serve it, garnishing it with a mint leaf or some pomegranates on top.

Eggless date & walnut cake

Dates Chopped            –                       250gm

Clarified butter           –                       180 ml

Caster Sugar               –                       250gm

Milk                             –                       180 ml

Flour                            –                       500gm

Cooking soda               –                       8gm

Walnuts crushed         –                       100gm

Method:

1. Soak the dates & sugar in butter for 7 hours
2. Mix the rest all dry ingredients with milk
3. Mash the soaked dated mixture & fold the dry ingredients to the date mix
4. bake @ 180°C for 25 minutes

 

Almond Burfi

Ingredients:

Almond flour – 1 cup

Sugar – 1 + 1/2 cup

Water – 3/4 cup

Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp

Saffron – 1/8 tsp

Method:

• Place parchment paper on tray/ plate and grease it with ghee
• In a wide heavy bottomed pan add sugar, cardamom powder and water. Cook on medium flame
• Once the sugar syrup starts bubbling (boiling) add the almond flour. Stir it well initially to remove the lumps
• Continue cooking and stir once in a while
• Once the almond mixture starts bubbling add butter and continue cooking
• Switch off when the mixture becomes like a mass and leaves the pan. Transfer immediately to the greased plate
• After the burfi is cooled down a bit cut into desired shape. Transfer into container after it is cooled completely

Almond Halwa

Ingredients:

Almond flour – 1/3 cup

Sugar – 1/4 cup

Milk – 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp

Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp

Butter – 1 tbsp

Saffron – few strands

Method:

• In a mixie jar add almond flour, sugar and milk and grind it without adding water
• In a wide pan add butter, saffron and grinder almond mixture
• Cook it in low flame, stirring once in a while to avoid the mixture from sticking to the pan
• Once it starts bubbling stir continuously and switch off just before it reaches the halwa consistency. Garnish with nuts and serve

Microwave Palgova

Ingredients:

Condensed Milk – 1 tin (400 g| 14 oz)

Ghee – 1 tsp

Curd/ Plain Yogurt – 2 tbsp

Method:

• In a large microwave safe glass bowl, combine all the ingredients and Mix well
• Microwave  for 2 minutes, Stir well and microwave for another 1 minutes; Stir again and microwave for 1 more minute
• Continue the step till  the sides dried up and there are bubbles in the middle.  At this stage mixing the Palgova results in grainy texture (sand-like). Microwave at home took 8 minutes totally. Watch out after after 5 minutes. Let it cool for 6-7 minutes, instant Palgova is ready:-)

Paal Payasam

Ingredients:

Raw Rice – 3 tbsp
Whole Milk – 3 cups + 1/2 cup
Sugar – 3/4 cup (adjust according to your sweetness)
Cardamom – 2 pods
Condensed Milk – 2 tbsp
Evaporated milk – 1 can
Ghee – 2 tsp
Saffron – pinch (optional)
Salt – pinch
Cashew/almonds/ Pista – as needed, to garnish

Method:

• Add ghee/butter to the pan, sauté rice and cardamom in medium flame for a min. No need to cook till it changes colors. Let it cool down
• In a mixer grind the rice to a coarse mixture  (just break the rice)
• Add the coarse grain rice and 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp of milk into the pressure cook and cook till you hear 3 whistles
• Once the pressure is naturally realized, transfer the milk and rice mixture
• Add the remaining boiled milk to it and cook for 15 minutes in low – medium heat; stirring in between
• Add evaporated milk and condensed milk and continue cooking for another 10 minutes
• Add sugar, salt and saffron and cook for 2 minutes; switch off. Garnish with roasted Cashew/roasted almonds/ pistachio and serve warm or cold

 

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins

Makes 12

Dry ingredients

1½ cups atta (wholewheat flour)

¹/₃ cup white or brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

A pinch of salt

¼ cup chopped walnuts or cashew nuts

¼ cup dark chocolate or butterscotch chips (optional)

Wet ingredients

1 large egg (see tip below for eggless muffins)

2 ripe bananas, well mashed (a little more than ½ cup)

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 cup milk or buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 tablespoon chopped nuts, sunflower seeds or demarara sugar for topping (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a muffin pan.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg until frothy, then blend in the banana and the rest of the wet ingredients.
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients, and pour in the wet mixture. Gently mix the batter with a large wooden or metal spoon until just evenly blended. Remember not to over-mix.
5. Spoon into muffin cups, using an oiled serving spoon or ice cream scoop, filling each about ²/₃ Sprinkle with toppings, if you wish.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the muffins test done.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool for a bit. Serve warm or store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Katherine Hepburn’s Brownie

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter

¼ cup unsweetened chocolate

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup walnuts

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line the pan with greased parchment/foil paper.

Melt butter and chocolate together in a large saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly to avoid burning. Remove the pan from heat as soon as the chocolate has melted.

Stir in the sugar. Add beaten eggs and vanilla extract and combine well to make a smooth batter. Add flour, salt and walnuts (chopped roughly) and combine well.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the pan to cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares with a knife dipped in hot water and serve with ice-cream.

Nigella’s Devil’s Food Cake

Ingredients

50gm cocoa powder

100gm dark brown sugar

250ml water

150gm caster sugar

225gm all-purpose flour

1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder

1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

For the frosting

125ml water

30gm dark brown sugar

175gm unsalted butter

300gm dark chocolate

Two 8-inch baking pans

Method

For the frosting

Place water, brown sugar and butter in a deep pan and melt over low heat. Remove the pan from the heat as soon as the butter has melted and add in the chocolate (chopped finely).

Keep swirling the pan around slowly so as to melt the chocolate. Give a good whisk to this mixture after a couple of minutes.

Keep aside for an hour in a cool place till the frosting is set. You should ideally make this frosting a couple of hours before starting work on the cake.

For the cake

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Prepare two square/round baking tins of 8inch diameter by lining with butter sheets and greasing the sides.

Put the cocoa and brown sugar into a bowl. Boil water and pour the same into the bowl containing cocoa and brown sugar. Whisk this mix until thoroughly combined and set aside.

Sift flour, baking powder and baking soda in another bowl and set aside.

Beat butter and caster sugar in a separate bowl until pale and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and 1 beaten egg and fold. Add one-third of the flour mixture and fold well. Add the second egg (beaten) and the rest of the flour and fold well. Add the cocoa and brown sugar mixture to this and combine well.

Pour the batter into the baking tins and bake for 30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

Place one of the cooled cakes on a cake stand and spread a third of the frosting on top. Place the second cake on top of this and spread the remaining frosting over the top and the sides

Lavender shortbread

Portion – 8 pieces

Ingredients:

Butter – 200g

Flour – 250g

Corn flour – 75g

Icing sugar – 105g

Salt – 2g

Lavender extract

 

1. Take butter at room temperature and add salt.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the corn flour and flour well. Add 90g icing sugar to it and mix.
3. Keep the remaining icing sugar for later.
4. Add the dry ingredients and a few drops of the lavender extract to the butter and mix well.
5. Pour onto a 11×11 tray and bake for 30 minutes at 350 F.
6. Before putting it into the oven it is a good idea to mark the required size onto the dough so it is easy to cut later.
7. Once baked, take it out of the oven and cut when still hot.
8. Sprinkle 15g icing sugar after it cools down. Store in airtight container at room temperature.