Pomegranate Breakfast Soda

Pomegranate is one of my favorite fruits. When it comes to nutrition content, this fruit is one of the toppers. On most days, my breakfast includes fresh orange juice and I shift to pomegranate when they are in season.


This breakfast soda is great for a sunny morning. The beauty of it lies in its simplicity . This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten.

I made fresh pomegranate juice at home. Care needs to be taken while blending the pomegranate seeds. Just pulse about 5 times to extract the juice. Too much blending will lead to a very grainy discolored juice. Straining the juice works best with a muslin cloth or small-holed mesh strainer.
(Always use gloves when removing pomegranate seeds as it stains fingers.)

Ingredients

• 100 ml pomegranate juice
• 100 ml sparkling water ( Soda)
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar(optional)

Directions:

Mix the ingredients together in a pitcher and serve over ice.

Zebra cake

The Masterchef Australia Season has started all over again and I love, love, love the show. I never miss an episode. Such a pleasure watching people cooking good food and all the more 'beautiful food'. There a so many talented people out there. Good to see wonderfully good food with quality ingredients. Have watched Masterchef USA and India and to be frank, I liked only Australia. The focus is only on food and no cribbing and fussing. I learn so much about food from this show. The judges are fantastic too.
I can just go on and on and on about this but let me just sum it all up with a Big Hurrah! for the Masterchef Australia series.

Now, let me get to my baked goodies. This time round, I want to share the recipe and pics of a  Zebra cake.  I think it looks adorable. I'm impressed with myself. Pat, pat, pat on my back. This cake went straight to a cousin's home. So I could not taste it, but, those who did, said it was fabulous.

What I would do differently next time,
1) make more layers. This time I tried just few.
2) Since I now know how to do it, I would spoon the batter a little neater next time. This time the job was shabby as you can see  :)

The layers were not so clear on the outside . But , when cut, there was this beautiful display of brown and white.The design looked so fashionable.

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 cupsall purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 medium eggs at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup warm, whole milk 
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder.  

  

Directions:

• Preheat  oven to 400 degrees F or 205 degrees C . Line an 8-inch cake pan with parchment paper or butter and dust with all-purpose flour. 
• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
• In a large mising bowl, beat butter and sugar using an electric mixer set on low speed, until the mixture resembles damp sand (about 3 mins).
•  Beat in the eggs one at a time on medium-high, until wellblended and  a smooth fluffy consistency is reached. (About 7-8 mins)
• Add vanilla and mix.
• Add 1/3 of the sifted flour mixture and milk alternately and mix until you have added it all.
  
• Do not overbeat this mixture. Once the flour is incorporated well, stop mixing. 
• Separate this batter into 2 equal parts. To one part add cocoa powder and mix well.   

  

Now to create the zebra design.  

For this the batter has to be poured in a particular fashion into the mold.

• Take a large spoon or ladle and first spoon the vanilla batter right into the center of  the prepared pan. Tap the pan thrice to spread the batter a little.  
• Next, spoon the chocolate batter right in the middle of the vanilla batter and tap the pan.  
• Repeat these 2 steps alternately till you have added all the batter. (see pic above)
  
• Bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean — 25 to 30 minutes. 
• Cool cake completely on a wire rack.

Coffee Pannacotta with Chocolate glaze

The scent of hot, freshly brewed coffee is heaven. Have been wanting to try a coffee flavored version of Pannacotta for a long time. Love coffee for its aroma and the slightly bitter aftertaste. Coffee flavored Pannacotta has this fancy taste without much hard work.
The recipe is simple. Similar to Vanilla pannacotta.(Recipe here). But, leave the vanilla out and add 2 tspns (or more, according to taste) of instant coffee granules when the cream has boiled. For those who love chocolate with coffee, the recipe for the chocolate glaze follows.

For chocolate glaze melt 1/4 cup of chocolate chips over a water bath and add 3-4 tbspns of milk to it and stir When cool, use as glaze.
As usual, I added mint leaves for a pop of color while photographing.

Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha

Home-made Strawberry Preserve

Fragrant, sweet strawberries are in season and to make best use of this I decided to make some homemade strawberry preserve. These fleshy, delicate berries are perfect for preserve.

The difference between jams and preserves is simple.

Jams use fruit pulp or crushed fruit and preserves use chunky pieces of fruit in a syrupy jam base. My husband hates jam and loves preserve for this reason alone. He loves the fruit chunks on his morning toast.

It requires just 3 ingredients to be precise, 2 of which are very basic and will be available in every pantry. The recipe requires only fresh strawberries, sugar and lime/lemon. Yes, it's that basic. And, the cooking time is only about 15-20 mins. Simple.

I followed Delia Smith's recipe.

But I did make a few changes to suit my convenience.
The changes I made are :
1. I did not use preserving sugar as recommended. I used normal white sugar.
2. I did not use any butter in my recipe. I skipped that whole step.
3. I reduced the amount of sugar to 600 gms for 900 gms of strawberries instead of the 700 gms recommended.
4. I cut the big strawberries in half because I did not want to many extra-large chunks in my preserve.
5. After the 8 minute boiling phase, and the consistency test, I continued with 5 more minutes of boiling.

On the whole, I really enjoyed the experience of making preserve and this being my first trial in preserves, I'm proud of the end result. My hubby and mom-in-law and I are thoroughly enjoying it almost every morning.
I always thought that strawberry preserves get their color from artificial colors. But I was pleasantly surprised at how the strawberries turned a deep red when the preserve was ready to be jarred. No artificial color.
What I would do differently when I make this preserve again? I would cut all the strawberries in half before sprinkling them with sugar. I prefer small chunks in my preserve.

The picture above shows how to check consistency of the preserve as mentioned in Delia's recipe. The crinkle test with a frozen plate.


Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha

Pistachio Kesar Kulfi Popsicles

Dessert again. Kulfi is a popular, frozen, dairy dessert from India, very similar to ice cream. I have a weak spot for good ice cream. I'm sure there are many like me. I like the "real thing" which is made of REAL DAIRY cream as opposed to the non dairy cream which does not render that genuine creaminess . Very many ice creams found in the market, especially in India, contain non dairy cream, artificial flavors and artificial colors.
Two brands that I know off which use top quality and natural ingredients are Haagen Daz and Ben and Jerry's. Thank God for globalization, these are available here today.
I've used all natural ingredients in my kulfi. Most Kulfi recipes call for corn starch to thicken the mixture. I've replaced corn starch with arrowroot powder. Flavor comes from using saffron, cardamom and pistachios. Creaminess from rich milk and whipping cream. These ingredients are a bit on the expensive side, but, I feel it is money well spent.
Another advantage is that it is a no bake dessert. Easy to make. You could avoid cardamom and add any fruit pulp to make fruit kulfis. My suggestion would be Mango and Chiku, as these fruits have a very Indian flavor which will go well with this Indian dessert.

Ingredients:

• Milk - 2 cups
• Sugar- 1/2 cup
• Arrowroot powder - 2 tspns
• Cardamom powder - 1/2 tspn
• Pistachios - 1/4 cup (chopped)
• Saffron - 4-5 strands
• Whipping cream-1/2 cup

Directions:

• Dissolve arrowroot in 1/4 cup of cold milk.
• Whip up the whipping cream to peaks and set aside in the refrigerator
• Take 1/4 cup of hot milk and to this add saffron strands and set aside.
• Heat the remaining milk with sugar and let dissolve. Once the milk begins to boil, reduce heat and add the arrowroot dissolved milk. Stir well
• Next add the saffron milk and stir.
• Stir for about 2-3 mins till the arrowroot slightly thinkens the mixture and it comes to a custard consistency.
• Turn off heat and add pistachios and cardamom powder.
• Let cool. Once cooled, add whipped cream and fold gently till it's incorporated well.
• Pour mixture into popsicle molds or any mold of your choice.
• Freeze for 4-6 hours or overnight.
• To unmold the popsicles, dip the mold in warm water for 10 secs. The popsicles will slide out easily.
• Enjoy.

Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha

Blueberry Walnut Cake

It's been very difficult to find blueberries here, in India, and so I asked an aunt to look out for some dried blueberries abroad. And lucky me, she brought me a pack of dried blueberries. I was so excited to bake this blueberry walnut cake. I did miss the plumpness of fresh, juicy blueberries as the dried berries had the texture and feel of raisins.They tasted very much like fresh blueberries though. So now, for all I care, I have blueberries in my pantry all year round and don't have to go hunting places for them.


It was a neat bake and and I was pretty happy with the result. A fairly easy recipe.
A moist cake with crisp walnut and chewy blueberries. This can be served plain or with fresh fruit.

Ingredients:

• Butter( at room temperature) - 1 stick( 115 gms)
• Sugar - 3/4 cup
• Eggs(large) - 3
• Pure vanilla extract - 1 tspn
• All purpose flour - 1-1/4 cup
• Baking powder - 1 tspn
• Baking soda - 1/2 tspn
• Salt - 1/8 tspn(optional)
• Milk - 1/3 cup
  
• Walnuts - 1 cup (chopped)
• Dried blueberries - 1/4 cup
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F( 177 C)
• When the oven is preheating, put walnuts on a baking sheet into the oven. This will toast the walnuts. Remove after 3-4 mins. Set aside to cool. Once cool, give walnuts a rough chop.
  
• Butter an 8" round cake pan or line it with parchment paper. Set aside
• Seperate the eggs. Put egg yolks in a small bowl and set aside. Put the egg whites in a large, clean, dry bowl and beat the to stiff peaks and set aside.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
• Add egg yolks one at a time and beat well after each addition.
• Add vanilla extract and mix well.
• Now add the flour mixture and mix. Stir in the milk until batter is smooth. (Do not over beat the cake batter as it will result in a hard cake).
• Add the walnuts and the blueberries. Mix.
• Fold in the egg whites gently into the cake.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes in the preheated oven. For cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Do the toothpick test to see if the cake is done.(See note below).
• If the cake is not done, reduce the oven temperature to 275 degrees F(135 C) and bake for 8-10 more mins.Repeat tooth pick test.
• When the cake is done, let it rest in the cake pan for 10 mins.Then remove the cake from the cake pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
  

Note: Take a tooth pick or a knife or a bamboo skewer and poke it till the bottom of the cake.If it comes out clean the cake is ready.If it comes out with wet cake batter, it needs additional time to bake.

Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha

EVER TASTED SILK ? - VANILLA PANNA COTTA WITH STRAWBERRY COULIS (REPOST)

Today, I am reposting my pannacotta recipe.

This is easily the simplest recipe for a pudding.You can totally astonish anyone with it. PANNA COTTA means cooked cream and COULIS is just a fruit puree. Panna cotta is an Italian cold dessert and as always........anything Italian never fails to make me go gaga... :) To me, panna cotta is a very versatile dessert.It can be made in various flavors and can be paired with any sweet sauce.With that said, today I am making one with pure vanilla extract which I think is a universally appealing flavor. Anyone who does not like vanilla(which I think is rare) can substitute it with a pinch of cardamom powder. For those of you who are not strawberry fans , you can try chocolate sauce, or any other fruit as per your taste(like mango, rasberry,mixed berry, orange etc) .Or even better.........you can have the panna cotta just the way it is.

WARNING : Once you see the beauty you have created, you may not have the heart to serve it to your family or guests. Just console yourself with the thought that this is such and easy recipe that you can make it, any time, in a jiffy. So go ahead and dive right in :)

INGREDIENTS :(serves 3-4)
FOR PANNA COTTA:

• Unflavored gelatin 1 (o.25 ounce) envelope -which equals to about 1 tbspn
• 1/3 cup warm milk
• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup white sugar
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

INGREDIENTS( FOR STRAWBERRY SAUCE)

• Fresh strawberries - 2 cups (substitute with strawberry jam or preserve)
• Sugar - 1/2 cup
• Lemon juice - 1 tbspn
• Pudhina( mint) leaves - to garnish
  

DIRECTIONS(for panna cotta)

• Pour warm milk into a small bowl and stir in the gelatin powder. Stir and set aside.
• In a saucepan, pour heavy cream and stir in the sugar and set over medium heat. Bring to a full boil, watching carefully, as the cream will quickly rise and overflow.
• Pour the gelatin and milk into the cream, stirring until completely dissolved. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and pour into six individual ramekins( small cups) or tea cups or one big bowl.( I have used a ramekin).
• Cool the ramekins or the bowl uncovered at room temperature. When cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate(do not freeze) for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight. To serve, see directions below.

DIRECTIONS (for the strawberry coulis)

• Cut the strawberrys in halves and place them in a saucepan.Add sugar and stir on medium heat till the strawberry starts letting out its juices.If you are using fresh strawberries , you may have to add 3-4 tbspns of water to get the process started.
• Stir gently, because you do not want he strawberry peices to break up and get mushy.We need a chunky sauce.Cook for a total of 5-6 mins till all the sugar has dissolved.
• Remove from heat and cool well.Once it is cooled add the lemon juice.
  

DIRECTIONS TO SERVE :
There are 2 ways to serve panna cotta.

1) you can serve the pudding in the individual ramekins itself topped with the strawberry coulis. No need to unmould.

OR

2) Unmould and serve.

Directions to unmould:

• Dip the ramekins in hot water for 3 secs.
• Run a knife gently around the sides of the pannacotta.
• Take a large dessert serving plate and hold the plate with the palm of one hand and the bowl with the other and with a swift motion turn the pudding bowl upside down. Now, remove the bowl and u will see this beautiful, appealing, creamy-white panna cotta on your plate.

Wait , wait..........Don't pounce on it just as yet. One more step to go .Take your strawberry coulis and spoon it on top of the panna cotta. Garnish with some pudhina( mint) leaves.

It's ready now .

Luv 'n' luc

Smitha

Apple Raisin Walnut Muffins (Eggless)

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY BELOVED READERS.
The Holiday Season......This is the time of the year when baking is at an all-time high. It is not surprising because baked goodies taste delectable. Homemade baked treats are a good gift idea. Baking gets you being creative. It's fun and it is such a good hobby for a number of reasons. So, last week the baking bug bit me too. But, I did some low profile baking. Made some Apple Raisin Walnut Muffins. The highlight of this trial was that it was an eggless muffin recipe. I have never tried baking cakes or muffins without eggs, so, I was a little sceptical about the outcome. But, it was a big success story and the muffins were so moist too. And so, if you ask me if I would bake this eggless muffin again.......................Yes, definitely. It is a very easy recipe and I would recommend it to a beginner as well. Prep time - 10 mins.

The recipe is adapted from Paula Deen's Apple Raisin Muffin recipe.

I spiked the recipe by adding walnuts and a dash of rum. My recipe is provided below.
Ingredients (makes 10 muffins)

• 1/3 cup water


• 1 cup sugar


• 1 cup grated apple


• 1/4 cup raisin


• 1/2 cup (1 stick/ 115 gms) butter


• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon


• 3/4 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg


• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves


• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts


• 1 teaspoon baking soda


• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour


• 1/8 tspn salt


• 1 tspn vanilla extract


• 1 tspn rum

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) .


• Combine the water, sugar, apples, raisins, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and cool completely.


• Add vanilla extract and rum.


• In a large bowl, stir the nuts, salt and baking soda into the flour.


• Add the cooled mixture to the bowl, and stir until blended.


• Fill greased or parchment lined miniature muffin tins with batter to the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Luv 'n' luc'

Smitha

Nadan Chicken Curry

In Bangalore, or should I say "Bengaluru", for the past few days the stubborn clouds have been refusing to give way to the Sun. Gloomy days with chill winds..........boring, boring, boring.On one such afternoon last week, I was browsing channels when I came across a show with the recipe for nadan kozhi curry or country style chicken curry. Basically, a recipe from Kerala. It sounded and looked appealing. So, I tried the recipe. Verdict- I should say that it tasted very, very nadan and the recipe was very simple to follow. This is a nice gravy which will go well with pathiri, parotta, roti or dosa. With rice.......not so much. Cooking time was considerably less as the pressure cooker cooked the chicken in a jiffy. A quick curry.
Ingredients:

• Chicken- 1.2 kg


• Onions- sliced - 5 large


• Ginger - 1 inch piece (sliced)


• Garlic - 10 large cloves (chopped)


• Coriander powder - 2 tspns


• Chilli pwder - 1 tspn


• Eastern chicken masla - 1 tspn


• Turmeric - 1/2 tspn


• Garam masala - 2 tspns


• Ripe tomatoes(medium sized) - 5 (diced)


• Mustard – 1 tspn


• Curry leaves - one fist full


• Coconut oil- 8 tbspns


• Salt - to taste


• Water – 1-1/2 cup

For marination:

• Coriander powder - 6 tspns


• Chilli powder - 2 tspns


• Turmeric powder- 1 tsp


• Garam masala powder- 2 tspns


• Chicken curry masala - 2 tspns ( I used Eastern brand)


• Salt - 1 tspns

Directions :

• Marinate the chicken without adding any water and keep aside for 30 mins.


• Take 7 tbspns oil in a pan and fry onions till golden.


• Add ginger and garlic. Saute well.


• Add chicken and tomatoes and the rest of the masala mentioned in the ingredients.


• Add salt to taste.


• Add half the amount of curry leaves


• Let in cook for 5 mins


• Transfer the chicken to a pressure cooker.


• Add water ( For a thick gravy add just ½ cup of water).


• Add the rest of the curry leaves.


• Cover and let it cook for one whistle.


• Take 1 tbspn. oil in a tempering ladle and temper mustard and curry leaves and add to the chicken.


• Serve hot.

Luv 'n' luc'

Smitha

Homemade Vanilla Extract

I stumbled upon this recipe for homemade vanilla extract and have been wanting to try my hand at it for a while. Atlast, sometime last week, it's time had come. So, here's how I made my homemade vanilla extract.
I bought a small bottle of vodka( 180 ml) and used that bottle itself to make the extract.

Ingredients:

• Vanilla beans - 4 nos.


• Bean skins(optional) - few


• Vodka - 180 ml

Method:

• Cut the vanilla beans into halves. I did this because my vodka bottle was not tall enough to hold a full bean.


• Then cut them lengthwise, splitting them in half, leaving the end connected.


• Put vanilla beans into vodka bottle. Add vanilla skins also if you have any.Cover tightly. Give the bottle a good shake every once in a while.


• Store in a dark, cool place for 3 weeks or longer. You can keep topping it off with vodka once in a while as you use it, just remember to give it a good shake.


• Vanilla extract is like wine, the longer it is stored, the better the flavor.

My Vanilla extract is just over 5 days old and look at it's intense color. It has also become so fragrant. Can't wait to use it. Will have to wait another 2-3 weeks though.

Hints:

• Avoid discarding vanilla bean skins after using the vanilla seeds. Save them for making extract.


• The skins and a split bean can also be put into a jar of white sugar and left for a few weeks to make vanilla sugar.Great way to infuse the sugar with vanilla flavor for baking.

Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha