Goa, India

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Tag: What to Cook

Mushroom and Onion Soup

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

This one is a really simple yet amazing recipe, full of healthy nutrients and taste.

Here are the ingredients-

Mushrooms- 1 packet/250gms

Onion- 1 medium sized

Garlic- 4-5 cloves

Olive Oil- 2 tablespoons

Paprika- 1/4 teaspoon

Basil leaves- 1/4 teaspoon

Oregano- 1/4 teaspoon

Mixed herbs- 1/4 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Cheese- 1 cube grated (optional)

Method:

  1. Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté chopped garlic cloves
  2. Cut onion into rings and add to the garlic and sauté for another 5 minutes
  3. Now add roughly chopped mushrooms and cover the lid of the pan and cook for 5 minutes
  4. Add all the spices and stirring occasionally continue cooking for 4-5 minutes
  5. The mushrooms should be soft by now and completely cooked. Remove from pan and let it cool for sometime
  6. Once the mixture cools down, blend it in a mixer
  7. Pour the mixture back in the pan and add water to adjust it to a thick soup consistency
  8. Bring the soup to a boil and then simmer it for 2-3 minutes
  9. Serve hot, top it with some grated cheese for that added flavour.

Christmas Recipes from The Bristol, Gurgaon

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Christmas Recipes

 

Red Velvet Pancake

 

 

Ingredients                                              Quantity

 

10 cups all-purpose flour- 1/2 Cup [Chopped]

Sugar- 1-1/4 Cups

Baking Cocoa- 2/3 Cups

Baking Soda- 6 tsp

Baking Powder- 4 tsp

Salt- 5 tsp

 

Additional Ingredients (for each batch)

 

Buttermilk – 2 cups

Eggs -2

Red food coloring – 2 tsp

Butter and maple syrup

 

Method

  • In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking cocoa, baking soda and salt all together.
  • Place 2 cups in each of five resalable plastic bags or containers.
  • Store in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months

To prepare pancakes

  • Pour the mixed ingredients into a large bowl.
  • In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs and food coloring.
  • Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
  • Pour batter by 1/4 cupful’s onto a greased hot griddle; turn when bubbles form on top.
  • Cook until the second side is golden brown.
  • Serve with butter and syrup.

 

Mocha Cashew Butter

Ingredients                                                              Quantity

 

Salted Cashews -3 cups

Softened Butter- 1/2 cup

Semisweet Chocolate Chips- 1/2 cup

Instant Coffee Granules -2 tsp

Water -2 tsp

Salted Cashews (optional)

 

Method

  • Place cashews in a food processor.
  • Cover and process until finely ground.
  • Add half of the butter; process until smooth.
  • Transfer to a small bowl.
  • In a small saucepan, combine the chocolate chips, coffee granules, water along with remaining butter.
  • Cook and stir over low heat until smooth.
  • Stir into cashew mixture.
  • Top with additional cashews if desired.
  • Store in the refrigerator.

 

Mother Christmas Cake

Ingredients                                                              Quantity

 

Chopped Peeled Tart Apples (about 2 large) -3 cups

Sugar -2 cups

Apple Juice – 1/2 cup

Eggs -3

Vegetable Oil -3/4 cup

Vanilla Extracts- 1 tsp

All-purpose Flour -3 cups

Apple Pie Spice (Cinnamon)-2 tsp

Salt -1 tsp

Coarsely Chopped Pecans -2 cups

Candied Red Cherries, halved- 1/2 pound

Candied Green Cherries, halved- 1/2 pound

Diced Candied Pineapple – 1/2 pound

Salted Cashews (optional)

 

Method

  • Line three 8×4-inch loaf pans with waxed paper
  • Grease the paper and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, combine apples, sugar and apple juice; let stand for 15 minutes.
  • In a bowl, combine the eggs, oil and vanilla.
  • Add to apple mixture; mix well.
  • Combine the flour, apple pie spice, baking soda and salt; add to apple mixture and mix well.
  • Fold in pecans, cherries and pineapple.
  • Pour into prepared pans.
  • Bake at 350° for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
  • Remove waxed paper.
  • Cool completely.

Winter Recipes by Chef Anil Dahiya, Bristol Gurgaon

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Healthy Easy to Make Winter Recipes

 

Pineapple Coconut Cashew Rice

Ingredients                                                    Quantity

Long grained rice                                      1 1/2 cups

Crushed pineapple chunks                      1 (20 oz. Can)

(In the form of pineapple juice)

Unsweetened coconut milk                     1 (13.5 oz. Can)

Sweetened coconut flakes                      3tsp.

Thai red curry paste                                1 tsp.

Garlic powder                                         1 tsp.

Onion powder                                           1/2 tsp.

Ground ginger                                         1/2 tsp.

Salt                                                           1/2 tsp.

Pepper                                                       1/8 tsp.

For Garnish

 

Ingredients                                                    Quantity

Lime juice                                                  3tsp.

(According to taste)

Salted roasted cashews                           1/2 cup

Chopped cilantro                                     1/2 cup

Freshly cracked salt and pepper

Method

  • Pour pineapple juice (collected from crushed pineapple) in a measuring cup. Add coconut milk in 3 equal cups – add water if necessary.
  • Transfer the liquid into a large pan and bring to a gentle simmer
  • Stir rice, coconut milk, sweetened coconut flakes, thai red curry paste and onion powder.
  • Bring it to a boil then cover and reduce heat to low (dial should be a little above lowest setting).
  • Simmer for approximately 20 minutes or until rice is tender, stir for 15 minutes and add water if necessary.
  • When rice is tender, remove the pan from the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes.
  • When ready to serve (not before), stir in lime juice, cilantro and cashews.
  • Taste and season with freshly cracked salt and pepper and additional lime juice to taste if desired.

Tomato Halwa

Ingredients                                                    Quantity

Tomatoes                                                              10-12

Sugar                                                                      2 cups

Ghee                                                                      1/2 cup

Cashewnuts                                                          20

Raisins                                                                    2 tablespoons

Green cardamoms                                               6

Cloves                                                                     4

Tulsi leaves                                                            1/4 cup

Rose petals                                                          1/4 cup

Edible camphor (optional)                                1 a pinch

 

Method

·       Wash the tomatoes, remove the eye and make an incision on the lower side.

·       Boil water and blanch the tomatoes for 2-3 minutes. Drain, peel, deseed and chop.

·       Reserve the pulp with the juices. Grind the cardamom with 1 tablespoon sugar to a fine powder, sieve and keep aside.

·       Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee and fry the Cashewnuts and Raisins to golden brown.

·       Wash and shred the Rose petals and Tulsi leaves and reserve.

·       Boil the sugar with ½-cup water and make a single-thread syrup and keep aside.

·       Heat the ghee in a wide kadai (utensil), roast the cloves in it, till they start to crackle.

·       Add the tomato pulp and cook till the liquid dries up. Cook on low heat.

·       Increase heat and add the hot syrup slowly.

·       Reduce to low heat, keep stirring to avoid burning and cook till it starts to leave the sides.

·       Sprinkle the Cardamom powder, Rose petals, Tulsi leaves and the Camphor.

·       Mix well

·       Garnish the halwa with fried Cashewnuts and Raisins and serve warm.

Bhutte ka Kees

Ingredients                                                    Quantity

 

Medium sized corns                                          4

Ginger                                                                 2-3 (1/2 inch)

Turmeric                                                             1 tsp.

Chilli powder                                                      1-2 tsp.

Mustard seeds                                                  1 tsp.

Oil                                                                       2 tsp.

Milk                                                                     1/2 cup

Water                                                                 1/2 cup

Lemon juice                                                       2 tsp.

Sugar                                                                 1/2 tsp.

Salt to taste

A pinch of Asafoetida (Heeng)

Chopped coriander and grated coconut for garnishing

Method

  • Grate the corn with a hand grater to make a coarse paste. (You can also use a food processor or mixer grinder but it will affect the taste. It tastes better if you use the hand grater)
  • Chop the ginger and green chilli finely.
  • Add oil in a pan. Add asafetida (heeng) and mustard seeds till it splutter.
  • Add green chillies and chopped ginger.
  • Add corn paste, turmeric, chilli powder and salt. Stir it occasionally to make sure that no lumps are formed.
  • Cook it for approx.10-15 mins until the liquid in the corn paste gets dried off and the colour of the mixture changes to golden yellow.
  • Add milk and water. Continue stirring till its consistency becomes like halwa or upma.
  • Add sugar and lemon juice.
  • Garnish it with chopped coriander, grated coconut and serve hot.

Halloween Recipes from The Bristol, Gurgaon

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Halloween Recipes

These recipes are especially curated for us by Executive Chef Anil Dahiya, Bristol, Gurgaon

Born to a royal Jaat family where men were not commonly allowed into the kitchen, Executive Chef Anil Dahiya broke the rule and entered the culinary world with great enthusiasm. He started his hospitality journey in 1996, when he got his Diploma in Hotel Management from the Institute of Hotel Management , New Delhi. He began his career under their kitchen management scheme from the Oberoi hotels. He spent several years with the Oberoi hotels, followed by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), ITC and Lemon Tree Hotels. He is currently the Executive Chef of The Bristol Hotel, Gurugram.

Chef Dahiya has amassed a great deal of knowledge and developed numerous culinary skills, having worked with many renowned chefs such as Chef Vincent Joseph, Chef Michael Beechey, Chef Marshal and Chef Sadhu Rohilla.

He takes pride in creating and experimenting with new techniques and ingredients. Chef Dahiya loves to cook food in numerous ways, utilizing different unique techniques. He has appeared on various cooking shows on television such as “KUCH KITCHEN SE” on Sahara Samay on Sahara NCR.

 

Spider Cake

Ingredients for Cake                                                                 Quantity

Unsalted Butter                                                                         110 gm

Cocoa Powder                                                                         3tbls

Chocolate Stout                                                                         140 ml

Light Brown Soft Sugar                                                          170gm

Vanilla Extract                                                                             1tsp

Large Eggs                                                                                     3

Melted and Cooled Dark Chocolate                                         100gm

Plain Flour                                                                                   280gm

Bicarbonate of Soda                                                                 2tsp

Ingredients for White Chocolate Buttercream                    Quantity

Large Egg White                                                                          3

Caster Sugar                                                                                 40gm

Unsalted Butter                                                                          360gm

White Chocolate                                                                          200 gm

To purists, this is not chocolate because it is made only from the fat or butter of the cacao… melted and cooled

Ingredients to decorate                                                            Quantity

White Mini Marshmallows                                                       100gm

Black Sugar Paste                                                                       25gm

Method

  • Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas
  • Grease three 20cm round cake tins and line the bases with baking parchment.
  • Put the cocoa in a bowl, add 280ml boiling water and whisk until dissolved.
  • Pour in the stout, mix then well and set aside to cool.
  • In a stand mixer or a large bowl using an electric hand whisk, beat together the butter, both sugars and vanilla extract until light and fluffy (about 5 mins).
  • Add the eggs little by little, mixing until fully incorporated before adding more. Once all the egg has been added, spoon in the melted chocolate and mix to combine.
  • In another bowl, mix the flour, bicarb and 1/2 tsp salt. Add this mixture to the butter mixture in three stages, alternating with the stout mixture (which will be very runny).
  • Pour the batter equally between the prepared tins and bake for 25-30 mins until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
  • Leave to cool in the tins for 10 mins, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  • To make the buttercream, put the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of gently simmering water.
  • Stir with a whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch. Remove the bowl from the heat and beat with an electric hand whisk on high speed until the mixture has tripled in volume and has cooled down.
  • Slowly add the butter 1 tbsp at a time while continuing to whisk. Once all the butter has been added, the mixture should look glossy and thick
  • To assemble the cake, put one of the cake layers on a cake stand and top with a layer of buttercream. Repeat with the other two layers. Spread the remaining buttercream all over the cake, using a spatula or palette knife to smooth the sides. Chill for 1 hr or until the buttercream is firm.

 

To Decorate

  • Melt the marshmallows in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring from time to time.
  • Remove from the heat and put to one side for a few mins until the mixture is cool enough to handle.
  • Use your fingers to grab a small amount of the marshmallow and stretch it out to form long strands (dipping your fingers in vegetable or sunflower oil will help!)
  • Drape the strands over the cake in a random pattern, so it’s thoroughly covered.
  • Create a spider using the sugar paste (roll two balls, one bigger than the other, for the body, and thin strands for the legs) and place on top of the cake.

 

Mummy Dogs

Ingredients for Cake                                                                Quantity

Breadstick Dough                                                                       Package refrigerated 11 Ounce

Hot Dogs                                                                                    8

Mustard

Poppy Seed

Ingredients for Breadstick Dough                                      Quantity

Warm Water                                                                                1cup

Brown Sugar                                                                                3tbsp

Salt                                                                                               1tbsp

Oil                                                                                                1⁄4cup

Bread Flour                                                                                 3 cups

Yeast                                                                                           2 1⁄2tbsp

Method

  • Make dough using your favorite method- bread machine, mixer or by hand
  • Preheat oven to 375°F Using 1 dough strip for each, wrap hot dogs to look like mummies, leaving an opening for eyes.
  • Place on ungreased baking sheet.
  • Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown.
  • Place dots of mustard and poppy seeds for eyes and enjoy!

 

 

Halloween Recipes by Chef Om Nayak, Pasta Bowl Company

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

CAPPELLACCI DI ZUCCA : Fresh Stuffed Pasta

Serves 5 portions

Ingredients

  • 5 eggs
  • 350 grams pasta flour, plus more for dusting
  • 1 tablespoon Olive oil for marination of Butter nut pumpkin
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 600 grams butternut pumpkin
  • 100 grams freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
  • Freshly grated nutmeg
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 100 grams butter
  • Fresh sage leaves

Method

Making the Dough

  1. Mix Eggs, Flour and salt. Knead Well. About 3 mins should be ok. Keep it for 30 mins.

Making the Filling

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly oil a baking sheet. Peel and Cut the Pumpkin and scoop out the seeds and cut into small dices Bake the squash for 45 mins along with garlic or until well cooked
  2. Place it in a bowl, mesh it well, stir in the cheese and grate the nutmeg and some crushed pepper corns and mix well.

Making the Pasta

  1. Roll out the pasta dough very thin so as to literally see the yellowish filling inside
  2. Cut the pasta sheet into 2 ½ inch squares.
  3. Place 1 spoon of filling and stick the parallel ends together to form a triangle and then stick the other ends together for form the Cappellacci.
  4. In boiling water, cook Cappellacci for 3-4 mins approximately or Until firm or as they say “Al Dente”
  5. Melt the butter in a pan and add sage leaves
  6. Transfer Cappellacci to the pan, add few spoons of stock if needed.
  7. Check on the seasoning.
  8. Top up with some Parmesan Cheese. Serve Hot.

 

 

RISOTTO ALLA ZUCCA                Italian Creamy Rice

Serves 5 portions

 

500 grams Arborio Rice

300 grams Roasted Butter Nut Pumpkin

120 grams Butter

100 grams Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese

2 grams rosemary leaves

2 cloves of Garlic

3 table spoon chopped Onion

1.25 ltr Stock

Salt

Pepper

 

Method

 

  • To the pan add butter, garlic and onions. Sauté till transparent
  • Add roasted Butternut Pumpkin and Arborio Rice
  • While stirring, keep adding stock in the batches of 250 ml each
  • Once half done add rosemary leaves
  • After adding all the stock OR nearing Rice being soft add Parmesan Cheese
  • Check Seasoning and add crushed black pepper
  • Serve Hot

 

Chef Om Nayak

 

Fantastic Friday Recipes by Chef Guillaume Lejeune!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Here we bring to you not one but two amazing recipes by Chef Guillaume Lejeune, Director of Pastry Studies, Academy of Pastry Arts, to make your weekend an amazing one. So now you know what you have to cook for the weekend.. here is goes

Financier (Almond based travel cake)

Ingredients Quantity (Gr)
Butter 150
Egg whites 150
Icing sugar 165
Almond powder 85
Flour 50
Chocolate chip 50

Procedure:

  1. Cook the butter until golden color and nutty in flavour
  2. On the side, combine flour, almond powder and icing sugar
  3. Mix egg whites into the dry mixture
  4. Gently add in melted butter. Make sure the butter temperature does not cook the egg whites
  5. Add chocolate chips last and refrigerate
  6. Bake at 170°C in a silicon rectangular mat for 10mins.

Aloo Foccaccia (Indian Twist for my Indian Readers)

Flour 500
Salt 10
Yeast 12
Mashed potatoes 275
Water 280
Olive Oil               50

For the topping:

  1. Coriander leaves- 30gm
  2. Sliced onions- 50gm
  3. Green chilli chopped- 3-4 no.s
  4. Garlic chopped- 20gm

Procedure:

  1. Mix all ingredients together and make smooth dough
  2. Grease tray and hands with olive oil before handling dough.
  3. Proof for an hour, punch and shape dough in baking tray
  4. Garnish with the topping.
  5. Proof again and bake at 230°C deck oven

Cookout Tips to Impress Your Guests

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Image source

It’s summer, and for a lot of us, summer and barbeque cookouts go hand in hand. If you’re planning lots of outdoor dining experiences this season, why not aim to make your cookouts the best yet?

There are lots of simple cookout tips that can elevate your barbeque from ok to AH-MAZING and make the whole process of barbecuing even easier. If you use even just a few of them, you’ll soon get a reputation as the best barbeque in the neighborhood.

Put the Doritos to Good Use

There’s nothing worse than planning to cook burgers on the Barbie, only to find out that you’ve run out of kindling and you’re all going to go hungry after all. But, if you have some Doritos in the kitchen or any chips for that matter, you will be able to go ahead and flame-grill those burgers because, chips, and especially Doritos, make for excellent barbeque kindling, due to their dryness and their high-fat content.

Coat Your Hands

If you love making burgers, and you know that your homemade patties are the best, but you hate having bits of meat stuck to your hands, simply coat them with either a small amount of cold water, or even better a thin layer of vegetable oil, and you’ll bed able to make enough patties to feeds the whole neighbourhood before your hands become a sticky mess in need of a good wash.

Keep Your Meat Moist

If you want your guests to be amazed when they bite into you burgers because of your patties are so succulent and juicy that they basically melt in the mouth, then you really do need to work at keeping the meat moist. This isn’t always easy when you’re outdoors in the heat. Fortunately, the fix is a simple one – just mix a couple of tablespoons of mayo to each pound of ground meat you use will ensure a moist burger and enhance the flavor.

If you’re cooking your meat medium rare and you want it to be perfectly pink in the middle, you could also add an ice chip in butter to the center of the burger, and that will stop it from getting too hot.

Two Temperatures

One of the best tips I was ever given was to heat the barbeque to two different temperatures, one at each side you can do this by only heating up half of the grill. That way, you can move cooked foods to the cool side to finish off without the risk of them burning.

Make Use of Muffin Trays

Barbeques are nothing without condiments, but what do you do when you don’t have enough condiment dishes to meet your needs? Do you just serve your ketchup and mustards in the bottle? No, you don’t. You serve them up in muffin trays, that’s what you do!

Use two Skewers

Image source(www.personalcreations.com)

If you’re cooking kebabs (and if you aren’t, why not?) Instead of attaching your meats, seafoods and vegetables onto one kebab skewer, use two instead. It stops individual chunks from moving around and getting burnt or unevenly cooked as a result. Just remember to soak your skewers before use if they’re wooden, to avoid setting your lovely food on fire.

Flavor Your Meat with Wood

No, I’m not telling you to add wood chips to your ground beef! But, using wood will add bags of flavor to your burgers and make them stand out from the competition. What you need to do is use planks of wood on the grill instead of metal. They will keep the food safely away from the flames and add a woody, smoky flavor to the food. Different woods have different flavors, so you might want to experiment a bit before you throw a cookout for the whole block, but most people find cherry wood to be very pleasant. If you’re interested, you can buy wooden planks for barbecuing at http://www.outdoorgourmet.com/plank-grilling-cooking/wholesale-grilling-planks.These planks are reusable, so they’ll help you to perfectly flavor your barbeque food for the whole summer and perhaps for many summers beyond

Season with a Salt Block

I’m going to say three words that will change your life – well the barbecuing aspect of it anyway – forever: Himalayan salt block. If you don’t know what Himalayan salt is it’s that pink salt that you often see in whole food stores. Bought in a block, it is hands down one of the best things to cook barbeque food over. Skip, the usual seasoning and just lay your meat down on a salt block over an outdoor stove (gas or electric) and you will be rewarded with the tenders, juiciest most flavorful meat you’ve ever eaten in your life guaranteed.

Lots of Lemons

If you’re having a barbeque, then you most certainly should not forget to pick up some fresh starts at www.Citarella.com/shop/lobsters-shrimp, and when you have that wonderfully fresh seafood delivered to your door, you simply must cook it over lemons. Just slice up a few of the citrus fruits and put them on top of your fish, lobster and shrimps it cooks for an end product that manages to be sweet, smoky and slightly sour all at once. Your guests will be shunning the burgers for the shrimp if you do.

Alternatively, you can make a simple marinade by combining olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic and marinating your seafood in that for a few minutes before cooking.

Spray Some Apple Juice

Apple juice isn’t just for drinking. In fact, it is perfect for barbecuing. If you spray your grill with apple juice every so often, and you do the same to your meat too, it will be browner, more tender and all round more appetizing. It sounds a bit odd, but trust me it works really well.

Brick Your Chick

We all love to eat chicken especially when it has been chargrilled to perfection, but actually cooking chicken on the barbeque can be quite difficult because of its irregular shape. Chicken is rarely the same uniform thickness, and this means that when one part is cooked, the rest might not be or it could be. A very simple hack to solve this problem involves nothing more than a brick and a sheet of aluminum foil. Wrap the brick in foil and use it to press down the chicken until it is one completely even. Then, leave the brick on top of the chicken as you cook it. The meat will be more crispy and tender than any of yore previous efforts.

Make Pizza

Image source

Most people don’t expect to be served up freshly cooked pizza at the cookout. Sure, they might expect to see some pre-cut slices of cold pizza, but fresh, molten hot pizza – that’s something you don’t often see at a barbeque. So, why not exceed your guests’ expectations by serving them up a freshly grilled pizza? It’s really easy to do. Just check out http://ourbestbites.com/2009/06/tutorial-bbq-grilled-pizza/ for instructions. You can thank me for the tip later!

Make Veggie Parcels

Of course, not all of your guests are going to be meat eaters, and even if they are, it’s always good to serve up some veggies to healthy things up a bit, but what to cook? Vegetable parcels, that’s what. They’re so easy that they’ll take up very little of your time and because they’re cooked in foil, there’s no risk of them being contaminated by meat and fish juices.

To create delicious veggie parcels, just chop up and combine mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, corn on the cob, garlic, and sweet potato. Suasion with herbs and salt and toss on the barbeque for between five and ten minutes.

Serve Up Smoked Salt

While you’re grilling up burgers, fish kebabs and sausages on the barbeque, why not use that time to create your own smoked salt too? It tastes amazing, and you can use it to add that smoky barbequed flavor to dishes that have never been anywhere near the grill. All you have to do is light the grill, fill a pan with your favorite salt, and any other herbs you fancy and place the pan directly on the grill. It’s a good idea to use a nice smoky wood like cherry or apple to give the salt the most flavor, but you can use anything you like to get the desired flavor and ensure that you always have a smoky condiment on hand when you have a hankering for barbeque and no time to grill.

Soak Don’t Scrub

The worst thing about hosting a cookout is the clean up that comes afterwards. Luckily, I have the answer to that problem – don’t do it. If you use paper plates and disposable cups, knives, and forks, and you soak your grill in a solution of ammonia once it’s cooled, you’ll hardly have to clean anything up at all, and you can well and truly enjoy your summer evenings!

Are you a grilling or queen? What are your top tips for hosting the best cookout and producing the best barbeque food in the the neighborhood?

 

The Sugar-Free Saviour Of Dessert!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

In our quest to find the perfect dessert, we always come up with the one thing we know we should avoid, sugar. Sugar turns into fat, which turns into extra digits on the weighing scale. And, yes that tasty cheesecake is sheer heaven on a plate, but all the sugar and carbs will weigh heavy on you in so many ways. The answer? The fat bomb!

Now, the name might not sound like a weight-loss miracle, but they’ve been used as part of the very popular ketogenic diet, where you have no carbs but fill up on fat for weight loss, and the results have been shown to work. If you check out the Bulletproof Diet or the LCHF pages, there are plenty of sources out there that swear by it, not to mention the fact that various types of natural fat are now been shown to very good for you. The great thing about these fat bombs is that they are only a few ingredients and require no baking. Now, there are some great no bake desserts and no bake recipes out there, and these fat bombs are sort of taking the inspiration from them, but have gone low sugar and low carb. So, to get you started, here are a couple of simple and sumptuous fat bombs.

Healthy Peanut Butter Cups

Image

 

A filling, tasty and healthy alternative to the ones you buy in the store, these are high in good fats, have a big dollop of protein and provide some key minerals.

Serves: 32

Ingredients:

1 cup of melted coconut oil

1 cup of organic peanut butter (no added sugar or palm oil)

1 cup of organic cacao powder

Instructions:

  1. On the stove, melt the coconut oil on a low heat and add the peanut butter and cacao.
  2. Using a whisk, whisk until the texture is smooth.
  3. Spoon ½ a tablespoon of the mixture into 32 small paper muffin cups.
  4. Store in the refrigerator or place in the freezer until the mixture has hardened.

And that’s it! You can choose to replace the peanut butter with almond butter or a nut butter of your choosing.

Chocolate Fat Bombs (With Sea Salt)

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Chocolate and sea salt has converted many people to its wonderful taste, but here’s a low sugar version which is just as good as the sweet treats in the store.

Ingredients:

½ cup of heavy whipping cream

½ cup of coconut oil

½ cup of sunflower butter

1/3 cup of cream cheese

1 teaspoon of vanilla

2 tablespoons of cocoa powder

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

3 tablespoons of grass fed butter

2 tablespoons of sea salt

Instructions:

  1. Whip the cream until they form soft peaks, add the vanilla and fold in.
  2. Place the sunflower butter, butter, cinnamon, cream cheese, coconut oil and the cocoa powder into a food processor and blend until smooth.
  3. Fold the mixture into the whipped cream until it is all combined.
  4. Pipe the mixture into silicone molds, sprinkle with the salt and store in the freezer for 6 to 8 hours.

 

 

Eid- Ul- Fitr Special Recipes from Funfoods by Dr Oetkar and Chef Ranveer Brar

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

After a month long sacred month of Ramzan, its time to break the fast, and Eid-Ul-Fitar marks breaking of this fast. On this occasion, FunFoods by Dr. Oetker recommends tasty desserts which are mouthwatering, easy to make, and would allow you to enjoy the festival as well with your loved ones. And whats an Eid without Seviyaan. So here are not one but two drool worthy recipes, shared especially for you!

Shahi Lucknowi Seviyaan Recipe by Chef Ranveer Brar, Creative Kitchen, Dr. Oetker FunFoods                                                                           

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

500 ml Full Cream Milk

50 g Almonds, chopped

50 g Cashewnuts, chopped

60 g Roasted Vermicelli

1 tbsp Condensed Milk

1 tbsp Sugar

50 g (3 tbsp) Dr. Oetker FunFoods Milk Shake Mix Kesar Pista

½ tsp Kewra Water

1 tbsp Pistachio, chopped

Directions:

  1. Heat saucepan (low flame) add milk, almonds, cashewnuts and vermicelli. Let it cook for 5 minutes or until milk starts to boil.
  2. Add condensed milk, sugar and milk shake mix. Cook for 5 minutes or until Milk shake mix is dissolved completely and mixture is thick in consistency.
  3. Pour kewra water and mix well. Garnish with pistachio and serve.

 

Level: Beginner

Preparation Time: 5 Minutes

Cooking Time: 10 Minutes

Gulab Kheer Recipe by Chef Ranveer Brar, Creative Kitchen, Dr. Oetker FunFoods

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 Litre, Full Cream Milk

100 g Rice, washed and soaked for 30 minutes

100 g Sugar

1 tsp Green Cardamon Powder

8-10 nos. Cashewnuts, chopped

60 g (4 tbsp) Dr. Oetker FunFoods Milk Shake Mix Rose

5 nos. Almonds, chopped

Directions:

  • Bring milk to boil in a large saucepan.
  • Add rice, sugar, cardamom powder, cashewnuts and rose milk shake mix. Simmer over low heat until the mixture thickens and the rice is cooked completely.
  • Pour the mixture into serving bowls. Refrigerate it for 2 hours, garnish it with almonds and serve.

Level: Beginner

Preparation Time: 5 Minutes

Cooking Time: 25 Minutes

 

 

 

 

Secrets in the Spice Mix- Book Launch by Pankaj Bhadouria at Piali, CP

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Pankaj Bhadouria, has been a household name ever since she won the title of first Master Chef India, and there has been no looking back for her. Her constant growth in terms of her cooking skills and her overall persona has been an inspiration to many women who used to think that cooking is only a duty and not a passion that can turn your life around. But Pankaj has proved her mettle over and over again, and more recently by launching her 5th book, she not only proves her capabilities as a chef but also tries touching a million chords by giving her readers exactly what they need.

Food is synonymous to breath for her and spices are the essence of it. Her journey of teaching kids in a classroom to teaching young chefs and cooks the art of making food is one of its kind. Right after winning the competition she has come to the world imparting her culinary skills to the world through the form of shows or books.

The right blend of spices is crucial to Indian cooking and it’s the combination of different spices that make some dishes so hard to resist. India’s First MasterChef Pankaj Bhadouria has identified around 50 such spice mixes with a tantalizing recipe following each spice mix which can be made at home. With 4 books to be acclaimed for, Pankaj’s 5th book, The Secrets in the Spice Mix, helps you make these wonderful spices at the comfort of your home and infuse some authentic flavours to your everyday cooking.

Chosen Piali, The Curry Bistro, as the venue for launch of her book, Panjak went on to conduct a live cooking session as well.

Piali’s menu is one of its kind and what makes it different is the class of curry and the spices that go into making them what they are! One such dish on the menu is the Thai Curry. Pankaj not only shared her secret spices and signed the books for her followers but also demonstrated the cooking of the Thai curry live for the present audience.

“I am really excited to be launching my secrets at Piali and the following live cooking session. I am happy to be able to share them with my audiences and where better than a place which savors the spices the most!” said an eager Pankaj.

Upon being asked what her favourite cuisine and dish was, she said it without any apprehensions that her favourite cuisine for sure is Indian, and she loves home cooked Khichdi, for the simplicity of the dish. Here is a glimpse of the event coverage right from the Piali’s Facebook Page.

She is such a down to earth person, that meeting her overtime, leaves me inspired totally. She fills me with so much of gratitude and warmth. I wish Pankaj all the success for her book, and stay tuned, will be sharing the book review and a recipe from it soon as I am currently reading my personally signed copy of the book, and in my kitchen trying the recipes.

 

 

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