Saturday, 17 September 2011

My Sister's Birthday Party!!



I made loads of things today.
And yes, i'm tired now.
But yes, i will post the cake pictures, because it looked fabulous and tasted delicious!

And yes, i will post the pictures of the other things i made as well !

The Cake:
I made the fondant flowers 1 day ahead, let them dry overnight.


I made 1 layer of chocolate cake, 1 layer of plain vanilla cake, and 1 layer of pink vanilla cake, White chocolate ganache and milk chocolate ganache


I filled the cake with white chocolate ganache, frosted with milk chocolate ganache.


A blank canvas ! :)






A slice of pure heaven !!





And I made these too:







Khatti Meethi Chaat



So, i came across this recipe when i was searching for stuff to make in Ramazan. I bookmarked it, and totally forgot about it. 
Yesterday i was browsing through my bookmarks when i saw it again, and i said why not try it today (as my sister's friends were coming over). 
I tweaked the recipe a tiny bit. You can find the original recipe here.

Ingredients:
Chickpeas : 1/2 kg ( I used more  cuz i was making for approximately 8-10 people.You can use less ofcourse)
Onion : 1 large 
Tomatoes : 2 large
Ginger : 1 inch piece (julienne)
Green chilies : 3-4
Salt : to taste 
Red chili flakes : To taste ( I used 2 tsp)
Cumin (Zeera) : 1 tsp
Chaat Masala : 1 1/2 tsp
Sugar : 3-4 tbsp
Tamarind : 1/2 cup
Potatoes : 2 boiled and peeled
Coriander : a few leaves for garnish
Sev : for garnish


Method:


Soak chickpeas in water overnight. Than boil, drain and keep aside.

Slice onions, dice tomatoes, chop chilies and garlic. Keep aside.

Dice potatoes.

Heat oil in a pan, add onions...

When transparent add ginger, cook additional 1 minute.

Than add chickpeas...

....tomatoes, salt, sugar, cumin, chaat masala, red chili flakes...

... tamarind pulp and 1/2 a cup of water. Cover and let cook till the gravy thickens, 8-10 minutes. (If you want them wet and with gravy than cook a little less, 3-4 minutes.)

Add chilies and potatoes. Toss.

Garnish with coriander and sev. Serve !




Submitting this recipe to Midweek Fiesta


Sharing this post with Cooking with Seeds and Cooking with Seeds Host line up

Potato Salad



I was not a big fan of potato salad, never really made it at home.
I had this salad at a friend's house, one bite and i knew that i wanted the recipe. Thank u Mehreen Ehsan, I love you, and i am keeping this recipe forever :D
It is a little rich, but its super delicious.
Make it and try to stay away :P, i'm sure you wont succeed in doing that :D

So for this salad you'll need :
Potatoes : 3 large
Peas : 1/2 cup boiled
Mayonnaise : 4 tbsp
Cream : 3 tbsp
Salt : to taste
Black pepper : 1/2 tsp
White pepper : 1/4 tsp
Chinese salt :1/4 tsp
Lemon : a few drops

Method :


Boil potatoes (i know they r quite a alot it the picture, as i was boiling them for 2 dishes :D)

Peel and dice into 1 inch chunks...

...mash a few as well.

In a bowl add mayonnaise, cream, salt, pepper, chinese salt, white pepper and lemon juice..

mix.

Add both the potatoes and peas

Mix. Store in air tight container in a fridge until ready to serve.


Enjoy!!






Thursday, 15 September 2011

Chicken Dam Kabab



Recipe courtesy, My chachi :)
I first had these kababs at a dinner party at my chachi's house. They are different than your everyday kababs because of the ingredients that are used. You can just fry them or you can give dam as well. I gave dam of tomatoes because doing this keeps the kababs hot till u serve them.

So, For these kababs you'll need :
Chicken mince : 1/2 kg
Almond paste : 1 tbsp
Dessicated Coconut : 1 tbsp
Salt : to taste
Red chili flakes : to taste
Zeera powder : 1 tsp
Coriander seed (crushed) : 1 1/2 tsp
All spice : 1/2 tsp
White pepper : 1 tsp
Chinese salt : 1 1/2 tsp
Green chili paste : to taste ( i used 2 tbsp)
Garlic paste : 1 tsp
Ghee : 2 tbsp (i used 1 tbsp mustard oil and 1 tbsp ghee)
Yogurt : 4 tbsp
Cream or Milk : 4 tbsp ( I used cream)

Method :

To the chicken add all the ingredients...

...including ghee, yogurt and cream/milk.

Mix everything together.

Make Kababs and shallow fry. Being careful not to overcook them, as chicken tends to get dry.
I fried not more than minute on each side. Just trust your judgement on this.

You can eat them as is it if you are serving them immediately.

Or you can do what i did.
As i made the kababs 30 minutes before dinner, i decided to put them on dam.

Add a little oil in a pan, straight away add 2 tomatoes sliced, 3-4 green chilies, salt and red chili flakes to taste. I used small amount of these ingredients, as i didnt want any gravy, just wanted to keep the kababs warm.
Put this on very low flame.

Place the kababs in the pan with tomatoes. Cover and let cook on low flame. 
Shake the pan to stir, Do not use a spoon, as the kababs can break.

Place a heated coal on a piece of bread, add a drop of oil on top of it and cover.

Dish out and serve !


Enjoy!

Tip : These kababs work really well in a thick gravy as well, You can make a regular gravy with onions, tomatoes, chilies and spices.

You can comment for any query. Any feedback would be highly appreciated. I'd love to hear from you all.
<3 Peace out!

Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Cookies N Cream Cupcakes



It's my sister's birthday today !
Happy Birthday Hira !
She asked me to make cupcakes for her, demanding that i do something with Oreo and iPhone (i know, she's crazy) , So i made Oreo cupcakes and made iPhone icons with fondant.

This recipe yields 12-14 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

Butter : 1/2 cup (113 gm)
Sugar : 1 cup
Egg Whites : 2
Milk : 1/2 cup
Flour : 1 cup + 2 tbsp
Baking Powder : 1 tsp
Salt : a pinch
Vanilla essence : 1 tsp
Oreo Cookies : 12 cookies

Method :
Separate cookies, being careful to keep the cream on 1 side.

Insert liners into cupcake pan. Place the cookie with filling on it, filling side up, in the bottom of each paper liner. Keep aside.


Cut the remaining Oreo into chunks. Toss them in 1 1/2 tbsp of flour (so that they wont sink to the bottom of the cupcake). Keep aside.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Keep aside.

Beat butter and Sugar till light and fluffy.

Add vanilla essence...

...milk and flour. Beat.

Than add egg whites. Beat till smooth. do not over mix !

Add the cookie chunks.

Fold lightly.


Fill the liners 3/4th of the way.


Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 17-20 minutes.

Frost with your favorite frosting. I used Ganache with Oreo cookie crumbs mixed in.












Enjoy!!

Linking it to Bake Fest # 2