Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

This year, as part of my Christmas baking, apart from the traditional Christmas fruit/plum cake, my little girl and I decided to try our hand at cookies. This is my first attempt to bake cookies. 

While it is actually pretty easy, the trick is getting them out of the oven at the right time. If they get over baked even for a minute, the cookies turn out hard and brittle, not chewy and crumbly as they should be. How do I know this? Well...my first batch got over done!

You will need:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate and white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 
  
• Heat oven to 170°C. Cream the butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer or a spatula. Fold in the egg and vanilla and beat again. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture. Beat until fully incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.
• 
  

Grease and line baking trays with butter paper. Make the dough into small balls. Place on baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake until the centers are just set, about 10-12 minutes depending on the oven. Cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks.

Tamatar Shorba (Tomato Soup)

Cold winter evenings in Bangalore call for a pot of steaming soup. I love the desi tamatar shorba. It can be made in a thick or thin consistency with whole Indian spices. 

You will need:

4-5 ripe firm tomatoes

1 Onion

2-3 pods of garlic

1 green chilli

Half tbs whole pepper

Bay leaf

A pinch of garam masala powder

Fresh coriander

In a pan, fry the spices with a little oil. Add the green chili, garlic and onions and fry lightly. Toss in cubed tomato chunks, garam masala powder and fry further. Add water and bring to a boil.. Once it has cooled completely, blend in a mixer. Let the puree simmer for a bit, add salt and a pinch of sugar. Garnish with lots of coriander.

Street Food: Nagarathpet, Bangalore

Like hungry hawks in search of prey, a bunch of us swooped down to one of Bangalore’s oldest, lesser known street food addas. Nagarathpet, Chickpete, Avenue road, the city’s busy business district that’s choc-a-block with shops and shoppers during the day turns into a street food haven by night. The area around Raja Market, near Chowdeshwari Temple Street is pure delight for idli and dosa lovers in particular as you get some of the best ones here. 

The bustling crowds that serenade the food-carts/stalls are proof of the pudding. We stuffed ourselves with piping hot, super soft spongy idlis with coconut green chutney and red chilli gram chutney. Next we moved on to the dosas. The speciality of the dosas here is the pudi (powder – similar to chutney pudi) that is smeared generously on the inside of the dosa along with huge lashings of ghee. Deep brown crispiness on the outside and fluffy white softness with a smattering of pudi inside is what we all feasted on. It is interesting to note the variations in the dosas – pudi plain dosa, pudi masala (with potato palya), and pudi chitra anna (lemon rice).

Apart from this, there are lots of vendors making hot jalebis, badam milk and basundi. We were so stuffed with the idli and dosa that we skipped the sweets and other treats. Next time for sure! A word of caution: This area is not the cleanest, turn a blind eye to the surrounding and concentrate on the FOOD :P!   

Cinnamon Rolls

Fluffy, chewy & soft, bursting with buttery sugar-cinnamon filling - Cinnamon rolls for Sunday evening; My house smelled heavenly with the baking aromas of fresh bread and cinnamon. I was keeping my fingers crossed, hoping they'd taste as good. Well, my family has polished of most of it, so I guess its decent! 

This is how I made it.

For the dough:
Maida/All purpose flour - 3 1/2 cups
Vanilla Essence - few drops
Milk -1/4 cup
Sugar -5 tsp
Salt -1 tsp
Butter -5 tsp(softened)
Active dry yeast - 1 tbs
Olive Oil - 1 tbs

For the filling:
Cinnamon Powder
Melted butter 
Granulated Sugar 

For the frosting:
4 tbs melted butter
5 tbs icing sugar
1/2 cup warm milk

Ready the yeast mixture by dissolving the dry yeast in lukewarm water until dissolved and frothy. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk, sugar, salt vanilla essence and yeast mixture. Add the flour little at a time and knead to form a pliable dough. Add the olive oil and knead further (knead for about 20 minutes). Cover the dough with a damp cloth and set aside for a few hours or until the dough doubles in size.

Preheat the oven.

On a floured and dusted surface, roll out the dough into a rectangular shape with a rolling pin.  Coat the dough with butter and spread the cinnamon and sugar generously. Tightly roll up the spread dough and cut into even pieces. Place in a greased baking tin and bake for about 30 minutes or till golden brown.

For the frosting, whisk together all the ingredients to form a smooth syrup. Drizzle over the rolls before serving.

Sussegado - Goan Food Fest, Hyatt, Bangalore : Restaurant Review

I readily agreed to review the Goan Food Fest along with a friend last week at the Hyatt, Bangalore for two reasons; Vegetarian Goan food is a challenge, and I wanted an afternoon of suseg – meaning relaxation in Portuguese.

The outdoor terrace seating facing a water body, palm trees, a beach shack-like grill and catchy Goan/Konkan music created the perfect setting on a cloudy/windy Bangalore day.

Chef Edrige Vaz from Park Hyatt, Goa was at the helm of the Goan spread. There was a dinner buffet with a variety of seafood and an a la carte menu for lunch. For us, a special three course menu was served by the Chef.

For vegetarian starters, there was home style crisp vegetable cutlet, a cheesy croquet and mushrooms in spicy peri peri masala. The cutlet and croquet were decent – nothing Goan though. The mushrooms however, were delightfully spicy and cooked right.

Moving on, for the main course we were served two varieties of rice and curries. Regular white rice and the boiled Goan rice. The yellow pumpkin curry was slightly sweet, with a tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves and onions in thin coconut milk gravy garnished with a generous helping of fresh grated coconut – relished the wholesome and delicate flavour along with Gaon rice. The mixed vegetables in red curry – Tarkarachem Hoomand, had an over dose of masala and was rather pungent.

The dessert platter included three types; Bebinca - the traditional layered pudding, Dodol – a halwa kind of sweet made of rice flour, black jaggery and coconut milk that I enjoyed and a payasam/kheer made of sago and channa daal. The kheer could have cooked a little more and a scoop of vanilla ice cream with the bebinca would have completed the dessert.

Summing it up, it was a decent experience for vegetarian costal cuisine, although the menu was limited. 

Verdict: 3.8/5

Vanilla Sponge with Caramel and Peanut Butter Frosting

Peanut butter craving & two birthdays in the family called for a home-made cake! If you like peanut butter, you will love this topping. The creamy smooth texture of peanut butter and gooey stickiness of caramel make a fantastic combination on a bed of moist vanilla sponge cake.  

I had a jar of Kirkland soft caramel toffees sitting in my shelf for long time. On impulse, I decided to combine it with peanut butter and yay! It was a hit!

For the cake:

Ingredients

1 cup sugar ( Indian granulated white sugar or brown sugar)

1 cup melted unsalted butter

3 eggs

1 and 1/2 cup all purpose flour (maida)

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla essence or extract

1/4 cup hot milk

Method

Pre Heat oven to 350 degree fahrenheit / 180 degree centigrade. Beat the butter and sugar till fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time with vanilla extract and whisk untill well combined. Add the flour, baking powder and soda and hot milk and beat again for a few minutes. Pour this batter into a greased baking tin and bake for about 30 minutes or till a tooth pick inserted comes out dry.

For the frosting:

4 tbs peanut butter

3/4 cup caramel (I melted caramel toffees in the microwave)

1/2 cup icing sugar

4 tbs butter

Combine all the ingredients and whisk until light and smooth. I dint make it too think as I wanted it to drip over the sides.

Once the cake is completely cool, over turn on a flat surface. Pour the frosting from the middle of the cake and lightly spread with a spatula. Allow it to drip over the sides.

Akki Rotti

Akki rotti (rice flour pancakes) is a traditional South Indian snack. It is largely made as breakfast or an evening snack. In Karnataka, there are many varieties of akki rottis specific to the region/district. The one below is what I have grown up on at home. It is hand patted, crisp on the outside, and soft inside. The best part of these rottis is that they can be made absolutely thin and crisp or soft and fluffy - it all depends on how it is patted and spread on the tawa/girdle.

Ingredients:
Rice Flour: 2 cups
Finely chopped onions: 2
Cumin/jeera seeds: 1/4 cup
Chopped green chilies: 8 or as per taste
Chopped fresh coriander: 1/2 cup
Grated fresh coconut: 1/4 cup
Fresh curds/yogurt: 1/4 cup
Water: 1/4 cup
Salt to taste

Oil/Ghee for frying

In a mixing bowl, combine the above ingredients except oil/ghee to form a soft pliable dough. The consistency should be firm, soft and should be able to form a ball. Make sure the dough is not hard/dry as that can make brittle rottis. Keep aside for 10 minutes.

Grease a tawa generously with oil using your fingers. (Note: do not pre-heat the tawa as it is essential to grease the tawa with hand and also to hand-pat the dough)

With your greased palm, take a small ball of the dough and pat onto the greased the tawa to form a rotti/roti of desired thickness. With your index finger, make a small hole in the center of the rotti and fill it with oil. Cook on medium flame till golden brown. Flip the rotti to lightly cook the underside.

To quickly make the next rotti, flip and hold the underside/bottom of the hot tawa with the help of tongs/kitchen gloves under running water in the kitchen sink ( it will cool down the tawa immediately) and you can proceed with patting the next rotti.

Serve hot with chutney, tokku or pickle. You can also drizzle some ghee/butter for added flavor.

Note: You can store the dough and use it for up to two days by refrigerating.

Mango Mania: Mango Cheesecake

Ever since my last post on mango gojju, not a day has passed without eating mango in some form or the other. And when mango and cheese is combined, it is a killer combo. Layers of fresh ripe mango pulp, cheese and cottage cheese on a bed of crushed biscuits is just what the family needed as a sinful sweet indulgence on a hot Sunday afternoon.

Ingredients:

Cheese spread - 1 tub (I used Amul creamy cheese)Cream - 100 gms (I used Amul)

Cottage Cheese - 250gms (I used Amul paneer)

Sugar - Half a cup 

Mango puree from 4 ripe mangoes

Gelatin - 1 tbsp (I used Lion vegetarian gelatin)

Hot Water - 1/4 cup

Digestive biscuits - 2 packets (I used Marie biscuit)

Unsalted butter, melted - 75 gm 

Method:

Crush the biscuits in a food processor to form a coarse powder. Add the melted butter and mix well. Press into a spring form pan or a loose bottom dish, or individual glasses. Refrigerate till rest of the cheesecake is ready. 

Blend the mango pulp with sugar and set aside. Add gelatin to hot water till completely dissolved. Add this to the mango puree and stir well. 

Blend together the cheese spread, cottage cheese and cream. To this cheese mixture, add half the mango pulp and beat till well incorporated. 

Pour the mango-cheese mixture over the biscuit layer as a second layer and refrigerate for a about 2 hours. As a third layer, pour the mango pulp gently over the mango-cheese ensuring the layers do not get mixed. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Mango Mania : Maavin Gojju

It’s that time of the year! And my favorite - the KING of fruits is in plenty. Luckily for me, my family is crazy about mangoes so we've been hogging polly/totapuri cut mangoes with salt and chili powder, poori -aam rus, just good old ripe mangoes, Alphonso jam and today the irresistible mango/maavin gojju. 

Maavin gojju is a popular dish in most Kannada homes. It is spicy, tangy and rich in flavor  For this you need the small round variety of ripe mangoes – pairi if possible. Grind together dry roasted urad dal, dry red chilies, dry coconut, jaggery and some tamarind juice. Cook this on low flame and dunk the peeled mangoes in whole. Bring to a boil and finish it with a tadka of mustard seeds, curry leaves and hing/asafoetida.

What I love best is the versatility of this gojju – you can have it with steamed rice, chapatti/poori, akki rotti, or as an accompaniment with rasam rice or curd rice, or you can even just slurp up just the gojju in all it’s splendor.

Bite into the gojju covered mango for a beautiful blend of flavors - sweet and pulpy mango with spices and the tangy after taste.

Tambuli

If you have been following my previous posts, you will realize I have been eating out like crazy. I needed to give my stomach a much needed break and detox my system. At such times, the South Indian in me takes over and I turn to comfort food like good old curd rice or anything curd based.

Tambuli is a simple curd/yogurt based curry, best had with steamed rice. There is hardly any cooking involved and is quick to make. Tambuli is very popular in the Malnad belt and South Canara region of Karnataka. It has a very soothing effect on the digestive system and works wonders for acidity.

A typical tambuli is made by mixing a chutney made of greens such as doddapatre (the thick velvety leaves) known as Coleus aromaticus in English, palak and even arrive soppu.  Or you can substitute the greens with just pods of garlic, pumpkin, cucumber, capsicum or any other vegetable with heavy water content.

My favorite is the garlic tambuli.

You need:

6-7 pods of chopped garlic
2-3 green chilies (avoid green chilies if you have acidity)
Half a cup of fresh grated coconut
2-3 sprigs of fresh coriander
4-5 dry red chilies
Curry leaves
Hing/Asafoetida
Mustard seeds
2 tbs oil

Grind the coconut, green chilies and fresh coriander.  Dilute the curds if it is very thick by beating it with a little water – the consistency should be a little thicker than that of buttermilk. Add the ground paste to the curds and add salt per taste. Prepare a tadka/tempering of mustard seeds, hing/asafoetida, curry leaves, chopped garlic and dry red chilies and add it to the curds. Mix well and serve with room temperature rice.

Note: If you are using a vegetable, saute the vegetables with the tadka until cooked. 

Thalassa, Vagator, Goa : Restaurant Review

Thalassa means sea in Greek.  Perched on the edge of a cliff, this open air Greek restaurant in Vagator, a small village in North Goa offers a stunning view of the Arabian Sea and sunsets.

Thalassa offers a fabulous ambiance; ocean view, cool sea-breeze, interiors styled in white and beige, white muslin drapes, white walls and beige cane furniture complete with strands of white flowers suspended along the drapes. Plus comfortable seating and candle light as it gets dark. Unfortunately I do not have good shots of the property to put up on my blog, please do google and have a look.

A big group of us happened to visit Thalassa on a Saturday night with a reservation the previous evening – in spite of which we had to wait for about twenty minutes. Being a weekend, the place was swarming with diners with hardly any leg room. We almost decided to head out of the place doubting the efficiency of the staff on such a busy night…well almost, because out of laziness we decided to hang in right there and – surprise surprise!!! The owner Mariketty and her team turned out to be super-efficient and friendly. Our orders were taken real quick, and drinks delivered to the table even quicker – the hospitable staff even provided us a room to feed a small infant who was in our group. Furthermore, food was served piping hot and fresh.

White wine sangria was WOW! Very refreshing, fruity and fresh – surprisingly not sweet.

 Vegetable grill platter was decent, with dips and pits bread on the side

 Pita bread tomato bruschetta was served with crisp and crunchy tomatoes and fantastic feta cheese.

 Pita bread garlic and cheese margarita pizza for the kids was yumm – they loved it.

 Vegetable Moussaka was creamy, rich and full of flavor

Risotto was a disappointment – tasted like our very own lemon rice aka chitra anna with olives thrown in. No red wine flavor as promised in the menu.

 Chocolate mousse cake was yummy – the kids loved it, rich, chocolaty, soft and moist.

 Kataifi was…well different. Sugary and rich, loaded with nuts. Could not help noticing how very similar it is to our South Indian traditional sweet – peni. We even called it the Greek Peni!

 The Baklava was to die for – crisp and flaky with a heavenly coconut filling, served with ice-cream.

Profiteroles were good.

It is easy to see why Thalassa is popular and packed; warm hospitality by Mariketty and team, relaxed Greek culture infused ambiance,  personalized service and recommendation, deadly and exotic cocktails and most importantly delicious Greek food.

Surely going back there very soon!

Verdict: 4.5/5

Chalston Beach Resort, Goa

Chalston is a quaint beach resort located between Calangute and Baga beaches.  Chalston has the privilege of thean excellent location between two busy beaches in North Goa, in spite of which you can actually get some peace and quiet. While the property is decently maintained with a good manicured garden, a very clean swimming pool and neat common areas, the housekeeping is average.  The rooms are pretty small, but then in Goa I spend more time outdoors and the room size hardly matters. 

The restaurant is a small walk across the garden and faces the beach so one can enjoy breakfast/lunch/dinner or even an evening drink watching the sunset. This is my third visit to Chalston and the biggest draw for me to go back was the food (except for the complimentary breakfast – more on that later). However, this time round I noticed a dip in the quality and quantity. On checking, I learnt that the chef had changed.  

The one and only vegetarian Goan dish – veg xacuti, pronounced "shakuti/sha-kooty" was anything but authentic.  Typically, xacuti is a rich delicious curry that is a blend of local spices and fresh coconut, with either vegetables or meat dunked in and served with plain steamed rice. The xacuti at Chalston was a concoction of very north Indian garam masala powder and random vegetables with probably a spoon of coconut thrown in. And why just vegetarian fare, my non vegetarian buddies felt the king fish curry was a big let-down (they usually live on king fish curry and rice while in Goa) – apparently the curry was watery and not well blended.  The regular north Indian fare like roti subzi and dal was just about average. 

Continental stuff like pastas and stroganoff was alright but I have had better continental meals at Chalston.  The Chinese food was pretty good.

Only the quality of desserts and breakfast remained the same. The buffet breakfast served as compliments is as bad as it previously used to be – buns/paav like leather cork balls, insipid bhaji, some eggs and lassi apart from tea/coffee. The desserts, chocolate ganache, apple crumble, tiramisu, walnut brownies and cheesecake – as before, were excellent as they are painstakingly made with a lot of care by the resort owner’s wife.

The staff is very co-operative and service at the restaurant is good. Once a week there is live music and people take to the dance floor– and that really completes the the Goan spirit along with chilled beer and really good cocktails (thankfully the bartender has not changed I guess).

Avarekai Saru / Field Beans Rasam

Avarekai (field beans/hyacinth beans) is a hot favorite  in Karnataka while in season. Because we all love it, it is raining avarekai at home - avarekai uppitu, avarekai saru, avarekai rotti and hitikida bele. I will try to put up more avarekai recipes soon.

A typical Sunday lunch during the avarekai season is saru with rice or ragi mudde/balls. This morning, my father, who is a great cook made it for all of us.

You need:
250 gms boiled avarekai
Half a coconut grated
8-9 small green chillies
1tsp rasam powder
2 tbs jeera
1small bunch fresh coriander
Juice from a small ball of tamarind
Salt to taste
Hing

Mustard seeds
Curry leaves

Grind a handful of boiled avarekai with grated coconut, green chillies, coriander and jeera to form a paste.
In a heavy bottom vessel, combine the ground paste, the remaining boiled avarekai, tamrind juice and rasam powder. Bring to a boil. Add salt to taste. In a separate pan, make a tadka of mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves and add it to the saru. Serve with hot rice or ragi mudde.

Flourless Chocolate Orange Cake

I have already posted Reva Garde's famous birthday cakes - here is one more to the list. 

This time, she tried Nigella Lawson's flourless chocolate orange cake. I took a bite and really had to swear it was flourless as it had a great texture. Reva kept the cake basic, minus icing/frosting, and topped it with some tangy canned orange slices. Moist, rich and yummy to say the least. And super easy of course!

Recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/nigella-lawson-flourless-chocolate-orange-cake-303266

Vietnamese Vegetarian Rice Paper Rolls with Peanut Sauce by Reva Garde

Good friend Reva Garde made these delicious rice paper rolls as starters for her husband's birthday party. They make great appetizers as they are light, crunchy and refreshing - plus they don't leave you feeling too heavy, so you can still do justice to the main course. :)

For the rolls, you need:

• 1 packet rice-paper wrappers/rounds
• 1 Chinese cabbage 
• 1 small carrot, peeled, grated
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled, cut into ribbons
• Juice of I lime
• Salt and sugar to taste
• Basil for garnishing

In a large bowl ready the salad filling by mixing all the ingredients except the Chinese cabbage until well combined. Soak individual rice paper sheets in a large bowl of water until just soft. Pat dry on a clean towel or absorbent paper. Spread one leaf of the Chinese cabbage on the paper, arrange 2 tablespoons of the filling into the center of the rice paper sheet. Fold in the edges and then roll up firmly. The edges should seal neatly. Repeat soaking and filling each sheet one at a time for the remaining mixture.
For the peanut dipping sauce, you need:

• 4 tsp smooth peanut butter
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 3 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp red chilli sauce

Mix the above ingredients in a bowl until well combined, add a little water to adjust the desired consistency. Serve with rolls.

Choco-Biscuit Fudge Cake

A week night chocolate craving brought about this choco-biscuit fudge cake. I vaguely remember a friend's mom used to make something called 'fridge cake' back in my school days - chocolate, biscuit bits and refrigeration is all that was required. This is something on those lines. Quick, super easy and instantly satiates the sweet craving, plus the family loved it.

You need:
2 packets Marie biscuits or any digestive biscuits
2 tbs cooking butter
250 grams cooking chocolate

Crush the biscuits to form a coarse powder in a mixer or simply break and crush with your fingers and set aside. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the cooking chocolate and butter  together until a smooth and creamy consistency is formed. Let it cool. Add the biscuit crumbs, mix and pour into a greased dish. Refrigerate for about 2 hours and then cut into squares.

So is this a fudge or cake? I am unable to decide....try making it and why don't you tell me?

Strawberry Cheesecake

Yay! Finally got on with my post for January 2013! 

Hope the new year has started on a good note folks :)

December is typically such a crazy, hectic month of celebration, eating out and entertaining....for me, this spirit has carried on to January 2013.

A weekend dinner party I hosted for a dear friend gave me the opportunity to try my hand at a 'proper' cheesecake. And mind you, it was a gelatin free egg less one at that.

With strawberries aplenty these days, and before the season is through, I decided to make a strawberry dessert.

Ingredients:

2 packets digestive biscuits (I used Marie)

2 cups grated cottage cheese (paneer)

1 cup cream cheese (I used Britannia Cream Cheese)

1/2 cup condensed milk

2 table spoons cooking butter

6 to 8 fresh hulled strawberries for blending

20 strawberries sliced for decoration

strawberry syrup for topping

For the biscuit base:

Crush the biscuits in the mixer until it forms a coarse powder. Melt the butter and mix it with the biscuit powder. Grease a spring-form pan or a baking tray and press down the crumbs firmly to form a 1 inch base. Refrigerate.

For the filling:

Combine the grated cottage cheese, cream cheese and condensed milk in a blender and pulse for a few seconds. Add the hulled strawberries and pulse again until it forms a smooth and creamy mixture.

Pour this strawberry cheese mixture on to the biscuit base and bake at 180 degrees centigrade for about 30 minutes. Baking temperature may vary depending on the oven, however you know the cheesecake is done when the strawberry cream bubbles up. Allow to cool completely. Decorate with fresh cut strawberries and refrigerate for about 4 hours. Serve with a dollop of strawberry sauce.