Back with a Cheesecake Bang !!!!!

SORRY FOLKS!!!
Its been over a year and have not posted any thing on my blog, though have been baking and cooking a lot!!! Mr work was not letting me do any blogging.

SO here goes-----
something sweet to make all of you smile...........

Chocolate Cheesecake-

CRUST-
50 gms (1/4 cup) butter
20 whole wheat biscuits, crushed
1 tbsp sugar

FILLING-
1 packet(8 oz or 230 gms) Philadelphia cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp cocoa powder

Method-
1. For the CRUST- mix evenly the melted butter, crushed biscuits and the sugar.
2. Grease a pan for making the cheesecake. You could use a spring foam pan or a silicon cake mould.
3. Layer in the bottom of the pan that you will use for making the cheesecake. Press down tightly with the back of the spoon to form a smooth and even layer.
4. Put inside the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
5. For the FILLING- Mix the cream cheese and the sugar in a bowl till the mixture is smooth.
6. Add the lightly beaten eggs and mix well.
7. Then add all the other ingredients and mix well.
8. Pour over the crust.
9. Put in a pre-heated oven for baking at 250 C for 15 minutes and then reduce the heat to 175 C and bake for another 45 minutes.
10. Check the center with a cake tester and it should be set and not wobbly.
11. Let it cool in the over for 10 minutes and then cool till room temperature.
12. Cool in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours and serve chilled.

RAW BANANA & PANEER KEBAB

HHmmm its been really looong!!!!!!!!!!!

What can i say???????????

"How u doin????"

Hope all is well at your end..........

so here goes.........

Ingredients-

1 medium boiled potato, grated

100 gms paneer grated

2 small raw banana, boiled and grated

3 tbsp chopped coriander

1 small onion chopped

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp black pepper powder or freshly crushed

salt to taste

Oil to shallow fry

4 tbsp breadcrumbs

Method-

1. Mix all the ingredients together except the oil.

2. Add the breadcrumbs, if the mixture is little too soft.

3. Take about 50 gms of the mixture and shape into long cigars.

4. In a non-stick pan, sprinkle a few drops of oil and heat through.

5. Put the kebab cigars and cook on all sides till golden brown on all sides.

6. Have it just like that as a kebab with mint chutney. Or roll it inside thin tortias with some shredded lettuce to make kebab rolls.

Zucchini & Potato Roesti with Mushroom Ragout

Today after so many days i felt like posting as my Boss is not in town. And that is treated like a working holiday. I knew about this yesterday when i was leaving for the day. Hence i made lunch for my colleagues today.

Zucchini & Potato Roesti:

Ingredients:

Potato- 2 large

Zucchini- 2 small or 1 medium

Salt

Crushed Black Pepper

Butter

Method:

1. Peel the potatoes and grate them.

2. Wash the zucchini and grate them.

3. Mix the grated zucchini and the potatoes together and mix salt and crushed pepper.

4. Squeeze out as much water from the mixture as possible with hands.

5. Heat a non-stick pan and melt some butter in it.

6. Make a small cake with some of the mixture and put in the pan.

7. Let it cook till golden brown on one side.

8. Flip over to the other side and add more butter.

9. Cook till golden brown on all sides and cooked through.

Mushroom Ragout:

Ingredients:

Olive oil- 1 tsp

Mushroom- 200 gms

Spring onions- 2 stalks

Red bell peppers-1/2

Salt

Crushed black pepper

Cheese-1 tbsp

Method:

1. Slice the mushrooms very thin.

2. Chop the red bell pepper and the spring onion finely.

3. In a pan add the olive oil and heat.

4. Add the spring onion and saute till turns bright green.

5. Add the mushrooms and saute till all moisture is evaporated.

6. Add the bell peppers and saute well.

7. Season with salt and pepper.

8. Add the cheese and mix well.

To Serve:

1. On a plate place a Roesti and spoon over some of the mushroom ragout.

2. Serve hot.

SPINACH AND BREAD BAKE

Of late, my chikoo's favourite veggie is spinach... And this is good and am happy for her.
So i made these spinach and bread bake for her lunch box today morning. And the good news it was all gone, hopefully into her stomach.

So here goes......

Ingredients-

Spinach- 1/2 bunch
Onion-1, small
Tomato-1, small
Salt- to taste
Pepper- to taste
Oil- 1 tbsp
Bread slices- 6
Cheese-4 tbsp, grated
Butter- to grease
Egg-2
Cream- 1 cup
Oregano=1/2 tsp

Method-

* Cut the sides of the bread slices and apply buter on one side.
* Grease 6 steel bowls or muffin tray.
* Wash and shred the spinach and chop the onion and tomatoes.
* In a pan heat the oil and saute the onion.
* Add the spinach and tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Keep aside.
* In a bowl, mix the egg, cream and cheese and season with pepper and oregano.
* Place the slice of bread in a bowl with the unbuttered side towards thebowl and let it take the shape of the bowl.
* Place little of the mixture in the centre of the bread bowl.
* Do the same with the other slices.
* Pour in the cream and egg mixture into all the six bowls.
* Put the bowls in a baking tray and bake in a pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes or till the cream and egg mixture becomes solid and forms a golden brown crust.
* You can use any combination of veggies, but the veggies should be cooked to remove all excess moisture.

CORN AND BELL PEPPER CAKES

These are corn and bell pepper cakes which i made for my chikoo's tiffin box. I used red bell pepper because she loves it and asks me to buy it every time we go veggies shopping.

Ingredients-
2 nos boiled potatoes
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 cup corn kernels
1 onion
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp oil

Method-

* Chop the onion and bell peppers finely.
* Mash the potatoes without any lumps.
* In a pan heat the oil and add the onion and saute till translucent.
* Add the corn and saute till soft.
* Add the bell peppers and saute till bright in colour.
* Season with salt and pepper and add the oregano and mix well.
* Add the vegetable mixture to the mashed potatoes and mix well.
* Add little of the breadcrumbs in to hte mixture and mix well.
* Form walnut sized balls and flatten into small cakes or patties.
* Coat with the breadcrumbs.
* Shallow fry the cakes. Or they can be even grilled on a non-stick pan without any oil.

She loved them so much that her tiffin box was empty, no little crumbs even.

You can even try these with other veggies if you like.

ALPHABET PASTA AND SPINACH FRITTATA

Ingredients-

2 nos eggs
1 tbsp grated cheese
1/2 cup boiled alphabet pasta
1 small onion, chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
10-12 spinch leaves, shredded
Salt to taste
Crushed black pepper to taste
1 tsp oil


Method-

* Beat the eggs with salt and pepper.
* In a non-stick pan, heat oil and saute all the vegetables for about 2-3 mins.
* Add the pasta and mix well.
* Then add the beaten egg and mix well.
* Let the frittata cook on the bottom on a low flame.
* When the bottom is cooked, sprinkle the cheese on top.
* Put the pan under the top heat of an oven and let the cheese brown and the rest of the frittata cook till done.
* If u dont have an oven , then just simply turn the frittata up-side down and let the other side also cook till done.
* Cut into wedges and serve with tomato ketchup.

NOTE- If u want , u can add any vegetables that u like. My angel likes spinach n red bell peppers and onions and tomatoes, hence have added these.
And the pasta can also change according to preference.

But for sure, the kids will love it.

CHEESE PARATHA

Today i gave cheese paratha to chikoo in her lunch box.

And it is very easy to make. And since kids love cheese and anything to do with cheese i'm sure there will be nothing in the lunch box when she returns.

Ingredients:

Cheese- 2 tbsp, grayed
Coriander-2 sprigs, chopped
Onion- 1 small, chopped
Salt- to taste
Pepper- to taste
Whole wheat dough- enough to make 1 paratha
Ghee- 1 tbsp


Method:

1. Mix the cheese, coriander and onion and season with salt and pepper.
2. Make a ball of the dough and flatten it out a little with your fingers and palm.
3. Stuff the cheese mixture into the flattened dough and make a ball again.
4. Roll the stuffed dough into a paratha.
5. Put on a tawa and apply ghee, cook till golden brown on both sides.
6. You can cut the paratha into triangles like a pizza and put in the lunch box.

Easy Grilled Cheese with Tomato

Today i gave my chikoo grilled cheese with tomato in her tiffin or lunch box.

It is very easy to make.

Ingredients:

Bread slice- 2 nos
Cheese slice - 2 nos
Tomato- 1 no, sliced thinly
Butter- 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Pepper powder- to taste

Method:

1. Heat a nonstick pan or even a tawa will do.
2. On one slice of bread apply the cheese slice and top with 5-6 slices of tomato.
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper powder.
4. Cover the sandwich with the other slice of bread.
5. Put the sandwich on the pan or tawa and apply butter on both the sides and toast to a golden brown colour.
6. You can eat it with the sides on or withpout the sides.
7. I prefer to remove the slices for my chikoo as it gets cold in the lunch box and in turn the slices get harder to chew for the kids.

TIFFIN TIMES

Hello all!!!!!!

I know i have been back after a long time, as my kids, in the college that i teach in, were busy with their examinations.
And from today onwards i will be posting a Kid Friendly recipe almost every day for it the summer vacation but mothers are still thinking that when the school starts what should i be making for their tiffins.
So this post and all the next ones with tiffin or lunch box ideas are dedicated to my friend and ex-colleague from delhi, Rene.

So here goes......................

so we will start with green poori or green roti.........

GREEN POORI OR GREEN ROTI

Ingredients-

Spinach puree-1/2 cup
Salt- to taste
Whole wheat flour- 1 cups
Oil or ghee- for frying

Method-

1. Make a dough of the flour using the spinach puree and water as required.
2. Divide the dough into balls.
3. Roll out the dough into circles about 3 inch in diameter if making pooris or larger if making rotis.
4. Fry the pooris or make rotis or parathas depending on what you are making.
5. The pooris or rotis will be green in colour and it will something different for the kids.

Hope you have fun making them and the kids have fun eating them.

ALMOND CHOCOLATE COOKIES

This recipe is dedicated to my friend Hemali Shah.

I made it this sunday with my 3 yr old angel and had a great time making it from scratch.

My angel has all the traits for becoming a big chef one day and she has started really early.

So here goes...................

INGREDIENTS-

Butter, softened 1 cup

Icing sugar 1 cup

Egg 1 no

Almond powder 1 cup

Refined flour 1 cup

Baking powder 1 tsp

Chocolate chips or chopped 1/2 cup

METHOD-

* To make almond powder, take whole almonds and blitz in the food processor or in the mixer or grinder.

* Mix the baking powder into the flour and sift well.

* Preheat the oven to 180 C.

* In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

* Add the egg and mix well.

* Fold in the flour mixture very softly just till it all comes together. Do not overwork the dough.

* Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes.

* Take it out and mix the chocolate in to the dough.

* Make into walnut sized balls and place them 1 inch apart on a baking tray lined with butter paper.

* Bake for 12-15 minutes.

* Let them cool on the tray for at least 5 mins and then remove them from the tray and cool.

* Store in an air-tight container. And enjoy the goodness of home-made cookies.

NOTE-

* You can also make the cookies without the almond. Just add the same amount of regular flour instead of the almond powder into the dough.

* You can also add any other flavor that you want into the recipe for a different batch of cookies.

* You can also make the dough and freeze it and use it as and when you need to bake them. It will stay in the freezer for at least 1-2 months if properly stored before the butter starts to get a rancid flavor.