Vanilla & Berry Pannacotta

And yeah.. we did it! In the year 2020, the emirate will host one of the most important and biggest events in the world- 'The Dubai Expo 2020'.. We ,UAE residents had been eagerly waiting for this day and the bid result surely brought smile on our face on this special day. National Day celebrations are going on in each nook and corner of the country while this news was like icing on the cake. Congratulations to the UAE & the Expo Bid Committee for their efforts to bring this World Expo to the Middle-East for the first time in all these years.

To celebrate both these occassions, it's again something sweettyy ;) I know 'no' other way to celebrate :D

Pannacotta was chosen for SFC#2; but unfortunately I was too busy to type and edit the pictures while I did make this way before. I'm leaving for India tomorrow evening  & I hadn't relaxed a bit since past 2 weeks. Now, packing,cleaning, cooking and freezing (for hubby) are all over and feeling quite relaxed. So I thought of posting this pending recipe and I'm not sure whether I would be able to do blogging from India or not.

Pannacotta is a delicious Italian dessert made by simmering milk,cream and sugar together with gelatin and cooling them later to set. It is usually flavored with vanilla , but could be served with berries or other fruits or jellies. Here I 've used raspberry jelly while you can use strawberry or any other fruit jellies. It's completely upto you. But take care that the jelly part should not be too much.. a thin layer is enough.


Ingredients:

Courtesy: modified from Epicurious

2 tsps powdered unflavored gelatin
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup plain non-fat yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 tbsp Lemon juice/Warm water
Any flavored Jelly packet -1

Method: 

Sprinkle the powdered gelatin over the warm water and let sit for ten minutes until 
softened. 

Combine the milk and cream in a saucepan and heat until warm. 

When the gelatin is softened, stir it into the milk with the sugar and stir over low heat until 
dissolved. 

Remove from heat and stir in the lemon peel, yogurt, and vanilla extract until 
smooth.

 Pour into serving glasses (only half of 3/4 way) and refrigerate. If you want slanting layers, use muffin pans to postion your glasses. Pour carefully using funnels or cut bottles to avoid messy glasses. Allow them to set in refrigerator.

When the panna cotta has firmed (depending on size of glass, but be sure not to take it out too early) pour a layer of jelly over each pannacotta layer. Repeat this until all of them are used up. You can keep the pannacotta and jelly mixture on kitchen counter as much as needed. It won't set at room temperature.

Death By Chocolate Cake-It's my 200th post & 3rd Anniwersary!!!

It was 3 years ago this day, that my cute li'l blog entered this world of bloggers, where everything was new for me. I shared my Pound Cake Tiramisu picture during first of Ramadan on my fb wall; when one of my  friends suggested me Friends Cookies page where everyone shared their tried and tested recipes with pictures. And then, the story began. It was like crazy cooking, clicking and rushing to upload in fb. My family got fed up with waiting till I click :) That's when I got acquainted with cooking blogs and fb pages. I was so fascinated with those blogs that I decided to start one. I was doing my MBA then and so waited till my exams got over. The very next day, I started one. My sisters suggested to name it in my Mom's petname so that all three of us could manage this blog. But they showed least interest once I started other than sending a few pictures and recipe links. I had to act as the captain of the ship since then. :)

 My hubby bought me a point and shoot camera soon and I was all the more happy with that. Started clicking decent pictures and stepped into the first step of learning process . 2 months then and was so happy to be accepted by many with their comments, feedbacks, criticisms etc. That's when I was pregnant with my 3rd child and then, blogging got hectic. Clicking, editing,typing, posting .. all these turned to be a tedious one, but somehow managed to post continously . With a baby around, clicking pictures turned to be more difficuilt. I threw both my cameras to support my baby when I saw she was falling onto the currybowl while I was busy clicking; that too in a week!! huff ..!! that was another turning point in my blogging path. I had to manage without cameras and laptop for 5-6 months. Used mobile camera and ipad instead. Got my Macbook after that ; but am still without camera. I wih to get one soon.

3 years passed by and today when I complete 200 posts , I feel on top of the world as I could manage posting atleast twice a month after going through many ups and downs in my personal life. Neither could I spend much time making friends online nor could I concentrate on my FB PAGE , but still all of you supported me and all thanks to that. I did never thought that I would be known in my mom's name (Kachuss) and now this happend. I wanted to move a step ahead from next year onwards to commercialise my hobby from next year onwards,Insha Allah!! Please do support me like this always.

 

 Now, this is a delicious rich chocolatty cake made with mayonnaise instead of butter, but you would never know this secret ingredient unless disclosed by someone. I didn't tell anyone that I had added mayonnaise until one last slice was left. I did say at last just to gulp that last slice which I know I would get if I they get to know about the mayonnaise secret ;) The cake recipe was adapted from here whereas frosting recipe from here.

Ingredients:

Makes an 9inch triple layer cake; serves 12 to 16

 (Recipe from Sky High Irresistible Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne)

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 ¼ tsp baking soda

1 ¼ tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground cinnamon

2 ½ ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 cup milk

1 ¼ cups hot, strongly brewed coffee

2 eggs

1 cup mayonnaise (not low fat or fat free)

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

2 ¼ cups sugar

 Chocolate Ganache (recipe below)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 9 inch round cake pans. Line the base of each pan with parchment.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

Put the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Bring the milk to a simmer. Pour the hot coffee and milk over the chocolate. Let stand for a minute, then whisk until smooth. Let the mocha liquid cool slightly.

In a mixer bowl, beat together the eggs, mayonnaise and vanilla until well blended. Gradually beat in the sugar. Add the dry ingredients and mocha liquid alternately in 2 or 3 additions, beating until smooth and well blended. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans.

Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out almost clean. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10-15 minutes before un-molding onto a wire rack and carefully peeling off the paper. Leave to cool completely.

 For Ganache:

Fresh Cream 300ml

Vanilla 2 tsp

Unsalted butter 2 tsp

Plain Chocholate 300 gm

For the chocolate ganache, heat the cream, vanilla extract, butter and chocolate in a heavy-based pan. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk the mixture until smooth and thickened.

To Assemble

Place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Cover the top evenly with 1/3rd of the ganache, leaving a ¼ inch margin around the edge. Repeat with the second layer and the seond portion of the ganache. Set the third layer on top and pour the remaining ganache over the filled cake. Spread all over the sides and top. Don’t worry if some of the cake shows through. This first frosting is to seal in the crumbs, and is known as a crumb coat. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes.

After this time cover the cake with the rest of the icing, smoothing it down the sides. It should be the consistency of mayonnaise. Use a palette knife or the back of a spoon to swirl the frosting around the cake.

Healthy Pancakes

• Happy Childrens Day!! 

• A healthy pancake with all healthy ingredients such as oats, wholemeal flour etc. to all those wonderful moms who keep worrying about their kids' health and to all those kids who love eating delicious junks .
• 
  
• 
  
• Ingredients:
• Courtesy:Eating Well
• 
  
• Buttermilk 2 1/2 cups**
• Oats 3/4 cups
• All purpose flour/Maida 1 cup
• Whole purpose flour/Atta 3/4 cup
• Light brown sugar 1/4 cup ,packed
• Baking powder 2 tsp
• Baking soda 1tsp
• Ground Cinnamon 1tsp
• Salt 1/2tsp
• Egg 1 ,large
• Eggwhites 2, large
• Oil 2 tsp

** For Buttermilk, add 2 1/2 tbsp of vinegar to 2 1/2 cups milk and allow it to remain at room temperature for a minimum of 15 minutes, without stirring/mixing it.

• Method:

1. Combine buttermilk and rolled oats in a small bowl; let rest for 20 to 30 minutes to soften oats. Stir all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour,  brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk egg, egg whites and 1 teaspoon oil in a separate bowl. Add the oat mixture and the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.
2. Lightly brush a large nonstick skillet with a little of the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and heat over medium. Using 1/4 cup batter for each pancake, pour batter onto the skillet and cook until the underside is browned and the bubbles on top remain open, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the pancakes over and cook until the underside is browned, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a platter and keep warm in a 200°F oven. Repeat with remaining batter, brushing skillet with a little of the remaining oil as needed. Serve hot, topping with maple syrup if desired.

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Paneer Fried Rice

Nowadays I'm always late for posting recipes. I'm a member of Jagruty's potluck party group and I'm supposed to post this on 28th ,that is..today. but, I'm late as usual.With no laptop and managing home and kids singlehanded can be the reason. Jab is out of town since 2 weeks and viral attack at my home made me busy. But I didn't want to miss this. So here is my contribution to the second half of the theme. I had to recreate dish posted by En Samaiyal. ie; Paneer fried rice. It was so easy,healthy and delicious.

ClickHere for the recipe

Kesari Rajbhog- Saffron flavored Stuffed Rasgullas for SFC#1

Eid holidays are over and hence the 'shor sharaba'! We had ten days holiday this time and all of us had a blast.  But at the same time, a little bit exhausted too.. I'm too tired to tell you how I feel now or to post any recipe. But I can't wait and 25 minutes more left to yet another day before which I've to post my SFC challenge #1. I've been waiting for this special day , but I was too busy with guests,holiday,school reopening and on top of that my li'l one turned 2 today, Alhamdu lillah! Time goes by really fast and kids grow up fast too. It seems like yesterday I was holding my newborn in my arms and now she has grown up to sing her birthday song all by herself, Masha Allah!

Sweet Fantasy Club is a group managed by Preeti of Simply Tadka wherein, we members post 2 recipes a month- one desi and other international. Rajbhog is a delicious dessert made with Chenna (mashed paneer) and stuffed with Khoya which is later cooked and served in syrup. A succulent recipe to be start with. 

Banana Walnut Cake- Eggless by Chance

Accidentally eggless...yes, that's what happened last week. 

Once when I read one of my friend's status that she had forgotten to add eggs, I was shocked thinking how could she forget such an important ingredient while baking. I thought it was ridiculous until I did the same mistake last week. This recipe calls for mixing up all the ingredients together and so I didn't realise my mistake. It was about 15 minutes later, when I was cleaning my kitchen that I found the eggs which I broke into a cup lying on the kitchen counter. I was feeling so helpless and regretted on the fact that I didn't give my son those bananas when he wanted to eat them saying he would be getting those baked into cakes by evening. :( 

I was standing near the oven for the next 30 minutes ,peeping into it every 5 minutes. The cake started rising and I was relieved. The aroma of the banana getting baked was just awesome. I took anticipatory bail from kids saying the cake wouldn't turn as delicious as it should be . They were a bit disappointed. But to my surprise, it turned out delicious. The texture was awesome and the flavor superb! I was thinking if I would've added eggs, then would it have been tasted even better? I don't know.I then decided to post this recipe here and ran to take my cam for the click. 

 Ingredients:

All purpose flour 2 cups
Sugar 1 1/2 cups
Baking powder 1 1/2 tsp
Baking soda 3/4 tsp
Salt 1/2 tsp
Bananas 3 medium
Buttermilk 1/2 cup (click here for substitution)

 Shortening/Butter 1/2 cup
Eggs 2 (completely optional)
Vanilla 1 tsp

 Walnuts 1 cup

 Method:

Grease and flour 23 cm baking pan. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Add the bananas ,buttermilk, butter, eggs(if using) and vanilla. Beat until well combined . Please don't overmix which may result in dense cake. Mix in the walnuts. Pour this batter into the pan. Bake at 170 C for 35-40 minutes.

I decided to take this to Potluck-party-cyber-style hosted by Jagruti where we celebrate virtual picnic with dishes brought in by the group members.

Gilafi Kebab

Onam is over , but the festive season is not over yet. Eid al Adha is on its way. From the delicious vegetable varities to the world of meaty favourites:) ! That's the difference between the cultures and festivals. Each festival has its own way of celebrating from food to lighting crackers to designing flower carpets to prayers etc. 

This dish is a spicy minced meat covered with a layer of onion, capsicum and tomatoes. This layer is called Gilaf and hence the name. This is a deliciously favorite dish which could be accompanied with rotis or rice.This kebab can either be grilled or shallow fried in medium-high flame. 

Ingredients:(makes 6-7 pieces)

Courtesy: Shireen Anwar 

Mince meat/Kheema (chicken,mutton or beef) 1/2 kg
Ginger garlic paste   1 tbsp
1 slice of bread (dip in water and squeeze water out)
Salt  1 tsp
Red chilli powder  1 tsp
Garam masala powder  1/2 tsp
Lemon juice 1 tbsp
Ground almonds/ cashews 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves 2 tbsp, chopped
Green chilli 3-4chopped
Fresh cream/cream cheese  2 tbsp
Oil, for frying

Gilaaf/outer covering:
 Onion 1/2 cup, chopped
 Capsicum 1/2 cup, chopped
 Tomatoes 1/2 cup, chopped

Method:

1.Squeeze out excess water from the mince meat and grind them again if it's a shop bought one. We need more fine than we get from the supermarkets.

2.Mix the meat with all other ingredients including bread,cream etc. Keep aside for 2 hours.

3.Mix together onions, tomatoes and capsicum for the gilaf in a separate plate.

4.Devide the mixture into 6-7 balls and shape them like kebabs; either lengthy, round or any shape u like. Then roll these kebabas on the gilaaf mix and make sure these are stuck to the kebabs properly.

5.You can either use skewers. This is completely optional. If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water for about 10minutes.

6.Shallow fry in grill pans on medium-high heat till golden brown. You can either cover in an aluminium foil and grill in oven at 250C for 15-20 minutes. Brush oil on kebabs before grilling.

Serve hot with green chutney.

Koottu Curry with Snake Gourd,Beans etc.

As you all know, Onam (Kerala festival) is approaching and almost all houses are getting ready to celebrate in their own style. Wearing new dresses, decorating Pookkalam(flower carpets), preparing Sadya, watching movies etc. are the ways in which we celebrate Onam.

OnaSadya (veg.feast) is one such speciality which can't be avoided during this festival. This grand feast is traditionally served in Banana leaves with Rice as the main ingredient. The vegetable side dishes may vary from four to 20 or more . Sambar and parippu ,thoran, olan, pulissery ,rasam etc. are a few among those dishes alongwith pappadam and pickle. No feast is complete without dessert and hence the payasam is served. Ada Pradaman,Paal payasam, paalada, ... the list goes on. It takes lots of efforts in grinding coconuts, chopping vegetables separately for each dishes and not to mix n match recipes.   Here, in middle-east,certain organisations and restaurants conduct Onam celebrations and we get to savour Sadya without much a do.

Koottucurry is a spicy dish among these which is prepared using Black Chick peas(Kaala Chana), raw plaintains and yam. This recipe is slightly twisted one using snake gourd and beans and tastes awesome!! I did take a printout of this recipe long ago ,some 10-12yrs back and I really don't remember the source of the recipe. Since then , I use to make this so often and is a hit recipe among our family.

Ingredients:

-Black Chick Peas/Bengal gram 1/2 cup

-Snake gourd,Long runner beans,pumpkin,yam,vellari- Altogether 1/2 kg. (You can either omit 1 or 2 among these)
Innerflesh of drumstick-1/2 cup

Coconut 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder 1/4tsp
Green chillies 3
Salt to taste

Cumin

Tempering:

Ghee 2 tsp
Coconut oil 1/4 cup

Mustard 1 tsp
Urad dal/white gram dal 2 tsp

Curryleaves 2 sprigs

Dried Red Chilly 3
Coconut 1/4 cup

Method:

1.Cook bengal gram with salt and water to a tihck gravy.

2. Clean and cut the vegetables into small pieces. Par boil the vegetables .

3.Grind 1/2 cup grated coconut and mix it with turmeric powder and green chillies.

4.Heat oil and season mustard, urad dal, dried red chillies and curry leaves.

5. Add the ground coconut mixture. Saute for sometime till the water dries up.

6.Add the cooked vegetables, salt and bengal gram dal.

7.Saute well. Heat 1 tsp ghee and fry the 1/4 cup grated coconut in it till golden brown.

8. Add this to the koottu curry and mix well.

Linking this toFoodabulous fest hosted by Rafeeda originally hosted by Simply Tadka

Announcement: Back 2 School Event

Now it's time for the kids to pack their bags, sit tight and get ready for their school reopening in the middle-east and some other countries too. This time usually is an exciting time of the year when kids wait for the school to reopen as they start getting bored of their long vacation and eager to meet friends. Some of them turn nervous too. Not only kids ,but also Moms feel the same, wondering how to wake herself or the kids up early morning. Some shed tears as their kids are all grown up now.

Planning some events- parties or day out or shopping- helps to relax and free the stress out. A joint effort of parents alongwith kids is essential here. Starting an event is a humble attempt from my side to make this time a little interesting for all those parents and their kids , who step into another phase of their life.

Parents should plan for a proper breakfast for the kids to carry as it is the most important meal of the day which helps kids to remain active whole day. So this is the best place/event to share your ideas with other parents as well who keeps on searching for healthier and innovative recipes to surprise their kids.

Rules for the event:

1. Any food which could be packed for kids' school.

2. Veg and Non-veg is allowed.

3. Link back to this page and usage of logo is much appreciated.

4.Any number of entries are acceptable.

5.Archive entries of 3 posts is allowed when reposted with the event page linked.

6. Link in your entries using linky tool.

7. If you have any problem wih the linky tool, send in your entries to hasjab@gmail.com

8. Non-bloggers can also send me entries alongwith pictures of their attempt and recipes .

9. Event closes by October 5.

SOYA MUSHROOM BURGER- Happy Teachers Day!!

Just now read somehwhere "Teaching is the profession that teaches all other professions!" How true! We seldom realize such simple things in life unless told by someone.  I like all my teachers except two ,whom I really hate.(there's a genuine reason).As a child, I was very shy to express my respect or love towards them. So today I wanted to take this oppurtunity to share about some of my favourite teachers who left their impact on me.

Qamarunnisa Ma'm who taught me in Grade 2 from Al Noor School,Auh was my first favourite among teachers. She was so caring and knew to deal with small kids really well. I always got motherly affection from her and was surprised when she could recognize me after 8 years. The other favourites were Jayasree Ma'm, Sangeetha Ma'm, Hari sir, Lissy Ma'm, Sheena Ma'm etc. etc. and the list goes on. I wanted to thank all my teachers from the bottom of my heart. I wouldn't have achieved first rank in 12th without them and I really mean it. I was so careless in my studies; but the teachers' trust in me overpowered everything and I had to prove myself.

Coming over to the recipe, a wonderful , melt in mouth and healthy recipe which you can make ahead and freeze for your kids' school. You can avoid mushroom if your kids don't like it. Otherwise a power packed, nutritious food is just a few minutes away.

Ingredients :
Courtesy: Mummy Ka Magic
(Makes 10)

Soya bean chunks 36 medium sized
Button Mushrooms 6
Green peas 1 1/2 cups
Potato 2 cups, boiled and mashed
Onion 3, medium
Garlic 2tsp
Pepper 2 tsp
Oregano or Italian mixed herbs 3/4tsp, (Optional)
Bread crumbs, 1 cup or more for coating

Method:

Pour boiling water over soyabean in a bowl, let it soak for 10-15 minutes. Drain and squeeze them nicely. If there's any moisture left behind, there's a chance to break while frying.

Mince soya beans, mushroom and greenpeas together in a grinder or foodprocessor. Keep it aside in a bowl.

Make a paste of onions. Heat oil in a pan and saute in garlic for few seconds . Add onion paste to it. Saute till the paste leaves sides of the pan. Add spices to it.

Add this paste into the soya mixture. Mix in breadcrumbs nicely. Take a handful of mixture and make patties out of it. Coat breadcrumbs and shallowfry this in little oil.

If you want to freeze, follow the same procedures I followed in freezing Meat Cutlets.

Linking this to Back 2 School Event hosted by me

Healthy Breakfast Event

Chocolate Maltesers Cake

It always feel good when you have someone to take care of you; someone who enquires whether you had your food or not from time to time; someone who cares about your sleep, health etc. No matter how old we are- we are still children for our parents; and they remain our parents forever.  I got to stay and spend some time with them last week and those days were awesome. We rarely get a chance to be a child at this stage of life when we have to be and act like a matured mom who never does a mistake and who is always right atleast infront of their kids.  To get pampered is a girl's/lady's fundamental right; Isn't it? ;)

It felt like suddenly we fell back into 90s where we stayed together with sisters and bro. The only difference was that my younger sister was not there and we missed her terribly. 

This cake is made by my sister, Hanan on her son's birthday and tasted awesome. The flavor of horlicks blended together with chocolate and maltesers on top was all in all a good combination and melted in mouth within seconds. What all you need ?!
 Ingredients:

Eggs 3
Brown sugar 150g
Caster sugar  100g
Milk              175g
Unsalted butter 15g
Horlicks powder 2 tbsp
Plain Flour 175g
Cocoa powder 25g
Baking powder 1 tsp
Baking soda 1/2 tsp

Icing:

Icing sugar 250g
Cocoa powder 1 tsp
Horlicks 45 g
Unsalted butter 125g, at room temperature
Maltesers chocolate to decorate


Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170C.
2. Butter and line two 8"cake tins with baking sheets.
3. Whisk together eggs and sugars until light and frothy.
4. Heat the milk, butter and horlicks powder in a small saucepan until the butter has melted and the mixture is hot but not boiling.
5. Beat the milk mixture into the eggs a little at a time.
6. Fold in the dry ingredients thoroughly.
7. Divide the cake batter evenly between the two tins and bake in oven for 25 minutes, till risen and will spring back when pressed gently.
8. Let them cool on a rack for about 5-10 minutes and then turn them out of their tins.

Icing:

1. For the icing, put the icing sugar, cocoa and horlicks in the processor and whizz to remove all lumps.
2. Add the butter and process again.
3. Stop, scrape down, and start again, pouring the boiling water down the funnel with the motor running until you have a smooth butter cream.
4. Sandwich the cold sponges with half of thebutter cream and then ice the top with what is left, decorate with Maltesers.