Mango Mousse

  

Ingredients:

1 Cup mango puree 

1 Cup fresh cream

1 packet Mango jelly powder

1/3 Cup Hot water

To decorate:

Whipped cream (I used store brought one; if you are using freshly whipped ones dont forget to add powdered sugar to the fresh cream while whipping)

Chopped mangoes 

Method:

Open the mango jelly powder into a bowl and add 1/3 cup hot water to this. Mix it well.

Then, add in the mango puree and mix until well-incorporated. Keep this aside.

Pour the fresh cream into a mixing bowl. Whip the cream with an electric mixer for about 3 minutes or until you get medium stiff peaks. 

Now, gradually fold your whipped cream into the mango mixture with a rubber spatula, working in three batches.

Then divide the mango mousse into the serving glasses and let them chill in the refrigerator for about 3 hours.

Once they're chilled, take them out and top with some fresh chopped mango and whipped cream. Enjoy!

Coconut Pannacotta with Caramelised Pineapple

 

Ingredients:

Coconut milk : 400 ml Can

Fresh cream : 300 ml Can

Caster sugar : 3/4 Cup

Cold water : 1/3 Cup

Gelatin : 1 Tbsp

Vanilla essence : 1 Tsp

Pineapple essence / Coconut essence : 1-2 drops (optional)

Pineapple - 1 Can

Caster Sugar - 2-3 Tbsp

chocolate shavings (optional)

Method:

Place cold water into a small bowl. Sprinkle over gelatin and keep it aside.

Place coconut milk, cream and 3/4 cup of sugar into a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves (do not boil). Remove from heat. Add the vanilla essence and pineapple essence (if using). 

Add Gelatin mixed with water to coconut milk mixture. Whisk well to combine.

Pour in coconut mixture to 12 x 1/4-cup capacity dishes or molds. Cover and refrigerate for 5 hours, or overnight if time permits, until set. 

Chop the pineapple to small pieces. Place these pieces to a non stick pan along with the juice in the can and cook till it becomes soft (Adjust the sugar depending on the sweetness of pineapple). Cook till the juice evaporates and the color changes slightly brownish. 

Turn pannacotta onto plate.  Serve along with pineapple. Can add chocolate curls or sauce or chopped berries. 

Smash a Strawberry 🍓

After a looooong break I am back with few strawberry recipes. 

In Australia, we came across with ‘Strawberry Sabotage’ recently. To overcome this situation and to stand with strawberry farmers, ‘Smash a Strawberry’ Challenge  is going on. Myself along with our friend Emie Roy took up the ‘Smash a Strawberry’ Challenge and did these recipes for SBS-Malayalam. We can smash strawberries (or cut it) and use it for making few yummy dishes. ☺☺☺

SBS Malayalam audio link: Easy Strawberry Recipes

Thank you Emie for your support. You can read more details regarding this in Emie’s post. Smash a strawberry and shoot it!

Strawberry Muesli

Ingredients

Rolled oats :​1 cup

Apple, coarsely grated(or chopped) : ​1/2

Vanilla flavoured yoghurt :​1/3 cup

Strawberry flavoured yoghurt : ​to serve

Apple juice :​1/3 cup 

Coconut milk : ​1/4 cup 

Vanilla essence : ​1 tsp

Ground cinnamon :​1 tsp

Sliced strawberry: ​to serve

Quick strawberry jam

Strawberries :​250g, chopped

White sugar :​2-3 Tbsp (depending on the sweetness of the strawberries) 

Lemon juice :​1 Tbsp

Method

Combine oats, apple, vanilla yoghurt, apple juice, coconut milk, vanilla and cinnamon in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in fridge overnight to soak. 

Meanwhile, to make the strawberry jam, combine the strawberry, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 7-8 mins or until strawberry breaks down and releases its juice. Cook for a further 2 mins or until mixture is a jammy consistency. Remove from heat. Set aside for 30 mins to cool. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge to chill. 

Add 2-3 Tablespoon Strawberry Jam to each glass. Top with oats mixture. Arrange the Strawberry slices around side of each glass. Top with strawberry yoghurt. And addfewdrops of strawberry jam on the top and serve. 

Strawberry Pancake

Ingredients

All-purpose flour :​1 cup 

Brown  :​3 Tbsp

Baking powder :​2 Tbsp

Salt :​1 tsp

Egg :​1

Milk :​1 cup

Vegetable oil :​2 Tbsp

Vanilla extract :​1 tsp

Strawberries :​1 cup chopped

Strawberries: ​to serve

Method

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour in the milk, oil, egg and vanilla, and mix until well blended. Stir in the strawberries. 

Heat a pan over medium heat, and coat with butter or cooking spray. Pour batter into desired size of pancakes. Flip with a spatula when bubbles appear in the centre. Cook until golden brown on the other side. Serve with fresh strawberries, honey or maple syrup

Strawberry Salad

Ingredients

white sugar​: 3-4 Tbsp

paprika​:​1 Tbsp

vegetable oil:​ ​4 Tbsp

Vinegar :​ ​4 Tbsp

Red Capsicum :​1

Baby spinach leaves  1 handful washed and dried

Strawberries:​10, halved

Nuts : 1 handful

 

Method

Whisk together the sugar, paprika, oil and vinegar. Refrigerate until chilled.

In a salad bowl, combine the spinach and strawberries. Drizzle with dressing, toss lightly and serve.

Strawberry Cream Popsicle

Ingredients

4 cups strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced

3 tbsp water

3 tbsp sugar or honey

1/2 cup whipping cream

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the strawberries, water and sugar. Simmer for about 5 minutes or until the berries soften and remove from the heat.

Allow the strawberries to cool completely and then crush it using a blender (don’t puree it too much).

Once the mixture is cool, whip the cream and vanilla together for about two minutes to make a soft peaks. Fold in the strawberries and then pour into the moulds.  Freeze for 4 hours or until set.

Notes

Whipped cream can be replaced with flavoured yogurt. When grinding strawberry add 1 cup flavoured yogurt and blend it together. 

Princess Cake- Birthday cake for my Little Princess

(Birthday Cake for my 4 yr old girl)

Ingredients for an 8” cake

Sugar : 1 Cup

Egg : 2

Plain Flour: 1 ¼ Cup

Milk : ½ Cup

Vinegar : ½ tsp

Oil : ½ cup

Baking Powder : 1 ¼ tsp

Baking Soda : ½tsp

Vanilla Essence : 1tsp

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Grease the bottom and the sides of the pan well.Line it with baking Paper

Mix milk and vinegar together and keep it aside for about 5-10 min. 

In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs together until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Add flour, milk, oil, baking powder, baking soda and vanilla and beat for another minute, just until the batter is smooth and creamy. Don't over-beat. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until the tops are golden and a toothpick poked into the center of the layer comes out clean. Loosen the sides of the cake from the pan with a thin knife, then turn out onto a rack and peel off the paper. Let cool completely before covering with frosting.

I made 4 batches of cake mix and pour it in 1 tall 8” pan, 2 normal 8" pans and one oven-safe bowl. The baking temperature for the bowl was less than 170 C and I baked it for almost an hour so that it get cooked correctly.

Turn your cakes out of their baking dishes and allow to cool completely (warm cakes will melt the buttercream).
                 
Using  a round cookie cutter  cut a circle out of the centre of all of these cake layers (Based on the height of the Doll. For me the I didn’t cut the bottom layer so that the dolls leg rest on the cake itself not on the tray).

Take your doll and tie the hair high so it won’t touch the cake and get disturbed while doing the doll’s skirt.  Surround the legs of the doll in plastic wrap and put her hand up.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream   (About 10 cups of buttercream)

Ingredients

Ingredients
fresh egg whites : 10 large  (300 g)
Sugar : 2 ½cups (500 g)
Unsalted butter, cut into cubes ( cool, but not cold) : 3 cups (680 g)
pure vanilla extract : 1.5 Tbsp
pinch of salt


Method:

Wipe a heat-proof bowl with paper towel and lemon juice, to remove any traces of grease. Add egg whites and sugar, and simmer over a pot of water (not boiling), whisking constantly but gently, until temperature reaches 160°F (If you don't have a candy thermometer, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot).

With whisk attachment of mixer (or a hand held mixer), begin to whip until the meringue is thick, glossy, and the bottom of the bowl feels neutral to the touch (this can take up to 10 minutes or so).

Don't add butter until the bottom of the bowl feels neutral, and not warm. Switch over to paddle attachment and, with mixer on low speed, add butter cubes, one at a time, until incorporated, and mix until it has reached a silky smooth texture (if curdles, keep mixing and it will come back to smooth).

If mixture is too runny, refrigerate for about 15 minutes and continue mixing with paddle attachment until it comes together. Add vanilla and salt, continue beating  on low speed until well combined.

Ingredients  for the Filling

Pineapple – cut into small pieces . (I used canned pineapple)
Whipping cream –1½-2 cups

Method:

Cook the pineapple by adding sugar syrup little by little. (if using fresh pineapple add sugar based on the sweetness of the pineapple). Add sugar too if the pineapple are not sweet enough. Once its soft and cooked properly, remove from heat and allow it to cool.
By the time whip the cream by adding 1-2 tbsp powdered sugar. Once the pineapple is cooled completely fold it to the whipped cream.

Assemble the Cake:

To construct the cake, first brush each layer with sugar syrup (I used the leftover syrup from the canned pineapple) before you place the filling  between the layers and stack. (Add a thick layer of filling between these cake layers)

Make a very thin ‘crumb coat’ of buttercream on the outside of the cake and place it in the fridge to harden – this will help the piped buttercream to stick to your cake. Do not worry too much if it is not perfectly smooth or beautiful looking just do your best.  Place in the fridge to firm up.

Carefully place the doll in the hole made in the center of the cake and do the rest of the icing . I did roses throughout the skirt and I preferred purple colour as that’s my little princess’s favourite colour. :) (even though I couldn’t find the exact purple colour she like, she was really happy with the colour and the cake I made . ;) )

Apple Pie

Ingredients:

Pie Crust:

All-purpose flour : 1 1/4 Cups
Salt : 1/4 tsp
Granulated white sugar : 2 tablespoon
Unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces : 1/2 cup
Ice water - upto 1/4 cup

Apple Filling:

Apples  peeled, cored, and chopped to medium size : about 5-6 Medium size
Granulated white sugar : 1/4 cup
Light brown sugar : 1/4 cup
Lemon juice : 1 Tbsp
Cinnamon powder : 1/2 tsp
Salt : 1/4 tsp
Unsalted butter : 2 Tbsp
Corn flour : 1 1/2 Tbsp

Method:

Pie Crust:

In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
Pour cold water little by little and process until the dough just holds together when pinched. Do not process more than 30 seconds. Turn the dough onto your work surface and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about one hour before using.

After the dough has chilled sufficiently, place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry into a 9 inch circle. (To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll and always roll from the center of the pastry outwards) Fold the dough in half and gently transfer to a 7inch (18 cm) pie pan. Brush off any excess flour and trim the edges of the pastry to fit the pie pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Gather the remaining dough and roll it to 9inch circle. cut the pastry into about 3/4 inch (2 cm) strips. Place the strips of pastry on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. You need almost 10 strips.

Apple Filling:

In a large bowl combine the sliced apples with the sugars, lemon juice, ground cinnamon and salt. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or up to three hours. Then, place the apples and their juices in a strainer that is placed over a large bowl (to capture the juices). Let the apples drain for about 15-30 minutes. Pour in the collected juices to a microwaveable bowl and add 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Place in the microwave and boil the liquid, on high, about 5 to 7 minutes or until the liquid is thickened and lightly caramelized.  (Alternatively, you could place the juices and butter in a small saucepan and boil over medium high heat on the stove.)

Meanwhile transfer the drained apples slices to a large bowl and mix them with the corn flour. Then pour the reduced syrup over the apples and toss to combine. Pour the apples and their syrup into the chilled pie crust.

Remove the pastry strips from the refrigerator and, starting at the center with the longest strips and working outwards, place half the strips, on top of the filling. (Use the shortest pastry strips at the outer edges.) Then, gently fold back, alternate strips of pastry. Take another strip of pastry and place it perpendicular on top of the first strips of pastry. Unfold the bottom strips of pastry and then fold back the strips that weren't folded back the first time. Lay another strip of pastry perpendicular on top of the filling and then continue with the remaining strips. Trim the edges of the pastry strips. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill the pastry while you preheat the oven.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Place the baking sheet on the rack before preheating the oven. Place a piece of aluminum foil on the baking sheet to catch any apple juices. Set the pie on the baking sheet and bake for about 45 to 55 minutes or until the juices start to bubble through the slits and the apples feel tender (not mushy) when a toothpick or sharp knife is inserted through one of the slits. Make sure to cover the edges of the pie with a foil ring to prevent over browning after about 30 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 3-4 hours before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream. Store at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.

Chocolate Pudding with Vanilla Sauce

Ingredients:

For chocolate pudding:

Milk : 2 + 0.5 cups
Sugar : 4 tbsp
Chocolate chips/grated or cubed chocolate : 3/4 cup
Cornflour : 4 heaped tbsp
Vanilla essence : 1/2 tsp

For Vanilla sauce:
Milk : 1 cup
Sugar : 1 tbsp
Condensed milk : 1/2 cup
Cornflour : 4 tsp
Vanilla essence : 1 tsp
Water : 1/4 cup
Butter : 1-2 Tbsp

Method:

 Pudding preparation:

Grease a pudding dish with butter & keep aside (you can use individual molds too). Add 4 tbsp heaped cornflour to 1/2 cup milk. Mix well without any lumps and keep it aside. Combine remaining 2 cups of milk, 4 tbsp of sugar & chocolate. Keep stirring & bring this to a boil, reduce the heat and add the cornflour milk mixture little by little and add vanilla essence. Stir continuously till it becomes a thick & pouring consistency. The chocolate should also be melted by now. Remove from fire . Mix well. Pour this pudding mixture to the prepared pudding dish. Let it cool to the room temperature. Refrigerate it for 4-5 hours.

Vanilla sauce preparation:
Add 4 tsp of cornflour to 1/4 cup water & mix well without lumps, keep it aside. Combine 1 cup of milk, 1 tbsp of sugar and 1/2 cup condensed milk. Stir well & let it boil. Reduce heat and gradually add the cornflour mixture. Mix & cook till you get the consistency of a sauce. Add vanilla essence & mix well. Remove from fire. Add chopped butter to the sauce & stir till it melts. Cool it to room temperature. Refrigerate it and serve with chilled pudding.

Molten Chocolate Cakes

Ingredients:

Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate : 150gm
Butter : 150gm
Eggs : 2
Sugar : 1/3 cup
All-purpose Flour : 1/4 cup
Butter : for greasing

Method:

Generously butter the molds/ramekins/custard cups and dust the insides with granulated white sugar. Preheat oven to 180 C.

In a heatproof bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate (or Melt chocolate in microwave)
By the time beat Eggs and Sugar until light and fluffy.
Once chocolate is melted, remove pan from heat and add in butter. Mix until the butter melts fully.
Add chocolate/butter mixture into the eggs, add all-purpose flour and mix well until incorporated.
Divide the batter between the prepared mold (about 3/4 full).
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the outside edges of the cakes are set but the middle still looks a little wet.You may have cracks on the top surface of the cakes.
(Shorter for molten inside, longer for stiff inside)

Place a dollop of softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on top of each warm cake.

Homemade Gulab Jamuns

Ingredients:

For the dumplings
Milk powder : 1 1/4 cup
All purpose flour : 1/2 cup
Baking soda : 1/4 tsp
Cold butter : 3 tbsp
Cold milk (not more than 3 tbsp)

For the sugar syrup
Sugar : 1 cup
Water : 1 1/2 cup
5 green cardamom pods, crushed

Method:

Sugar syrup:
Boil water, sugar and crushed cardamom together for 5 mins and keep warm on low heat.

Jamuns:
Mix together milk powder, flour and baking soda. Add the cold butter and rub it well into the flour.It will change the texture of the flour. Add milk little by little( you may or maynot need all of it) and form a smooth yet firm dough. Divide into 20-25 smooth small balls and deep fry in hot oil.Add the fried dumplings into hot syrup and leave aside for 30 mins.Serve warm or chilled.

Cornflour Halwa (in Microwave)

Ingredients:

Corn flour : 1/2 cup
Sugar   : 1 & 1/4 cups
Water   : 2 cups
Cardamom powder : A pinch
Cashews : 10-15
Ghee : 1  tsp
Food color : 1 or 2 drops

Method:

Mix corn flour,sugar,water and food color in a large microwavable bowl, without any lumps. Do not reduce the sugar amount,as it will change the glossy look.

Microwave in high for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes stir it. Again microwave for 8 minutes, stirring in between after every 2 minutes of interval. Stirring in between is very important to ensure even cooking.

By this time grease a plate with ghee.

Mix broken cashew pieces and cardamom  powder to this mixture and pour it to the prepared plate. Let it cool down for 1/2 hour.
Cut into pieces and enjoy!

The whole process is made in microwave high power.
According to oven the cooking time varies plus or minus 2-3 minutes.
Consume within one or two days.

Rasmalai

Ingredients

Rasgullas - 12
Milk - 1 litre
Condensed milk - 3 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Chopped Nuts(pistachio,cashews and almonds) - 10-15 each
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method:

Rasagulla recipe: http://saltnpepper-kitchen.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/rasgullas.html

Note: while rolling rasagulla balls, roll the portions in your hands until a smooth ball is formed and then lightly press the ball until it flattens out. 

Rasmalai:
Soak the pistachios and almonds (if you are using the ones with skin) in half cup of hot water for 1 -2 mins, to blanche them.
Take a wide heavy bottomed vessel, grease it with little ghee and add condensed milk + milk. Bring to a boil and reduce to medium flame. Keep stirring till the milk starts thickening and reduced to half.
Then add the sugar and keep stirring. This mixture is called rabri.
Keep in sim and stir it till it reduces in volume. Add chopped nuts to the rabri and mix well. Add cardamom powder and give a quick mix.
Now finally squeeze the sugar syrup from the Rasgullas gently and add it to the milk, one by one and let it cook in low flame for 5mins till the rasgullas absorb the milk. Switch off , cool completely and then chill it. Rasmalai is ready now. Serve chilled!