Happy Eid!!
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nylon bhajia (potato pakora)
It was nice to finally spend a day at home. Things have been crazy lately and there’s been a lot of running around to do. We finally got to sit back and relax on Sunday. It was a hot day and it was nice to spend some time on our neglected deck. We were hungry and needed a snack so I fired up the side burner on the bbq to fry up some pakoras (bhajias).
There are so many different versions of bhajias. These particular ones are referred to as nylon bhajias. They are thinly sliced potatoes, covered in a pancake like batter and fried until golden.
Q sat on his lawn chair and happily ate these as they came out of the fryer. He devoured them, and kept asking for more – always a good sign. To use up the batter, I added an onion that was thickly sliced. These are perfect served with tamarind chutney or ketchup.
Nylon Bhajia
2 large potatoes, thinly sliced
2 cups gram flour (chickpea flour)
1 cup water
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
handful cilantro
Add water to the flour slowly until it is the consistency of pancake batter. Add the spices and cilantro and mix well. When the oil is ready for frying, add the baking powder to the batter and mix well. The batter should be a little foamy at this point. Add the potatoes to the batter until they are all coated. Fry until golden brown.
butter and jam
I almost didn’t make jam this year. I had made it the last two years and loved the process but I was feeling a bit lazy. After seeing the plump cherries and the lovely blueberries in the store though, I knew that I would regret not making it once the fruit season was gone.
I did a lot of experimenting the last couple years, figuring out what I liked, what worked and what didn’t. I discovered that my favorite is cherry. It is so delicious but the process of pitting all the cherries makes me only make one batch a keep it all for myself. The resulting jam is totally worth the effort.
Another fave is blueberry, and really the easiest jam to make. The color stays the same as the months go by and I can make this one faster than any other. Sort through the berries, stick it in the food processor and you’re ready to roll.
I always use a low-sugar pectin so I’m not adding loads of sugar. To prep the jars, I sterilize them in the dishwasher and make sure the jars are still hot when I fill them with the hot jam mixture. You will soon hear the delightful popping of the lids, telling you that the jars are properly sealed.
The day after making the jam, I was chatting with friends about how their family makes butter in the blender. Whip cream until it separates and you’ve got an amazing sweet butter. Of course, after talking about this, I just had to go home and try it. I used the stand mixer and in 10 minutes, I had fresh butter to go with my homemade jam and some scones. It was the easiest thing, but I felt like Martha Stewart.
The last few days have been filled with fresh jam, making me so happy that I didn’t let my laziness get the better of me.
celebrating 37 years with a turtle cheesecake
My parents just celebrated their 37th anniversary! This definitely called for a celebration, and every celebration calls for cake. Tired of making the usual though, I wanted to do something different. I decided to do a cheesecake, a dessert that my dad loves.
I knew this cheesecake needed nuts, chocolate and caramel and after doing a search, this recipe was found on the Kraft website. The layers of caramel and pecans are divine. As good as it tastes when you first make it, it tastes even better the next day, if there’s any left!
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Love you lots!
Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake
2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
6 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
1 pkg. caramels
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped pecans
3 pkg. cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3 eggs
2 squares chocolate, melted
Heat oven to 325°F.
Mix crumbs and butter; press onto bottom and 2 inches up side of 9-inch springform pan.
Microwave caramels and milk in small microwaveable bowl on high 3 min. or until caramels are completely melted, stirring after each minute. Stir in nuts; pour half into crust. Refrigerate 10 min. Refrigerate remaining caramel mixture for later use.
Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over caramel layer in crust.
Bake 1 hour 5 min. to 1 hour 10 min. or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate 4 hours.
Microwave reserved caramel mixture 1 min.; stir. Pour over cheesecake. Melt chocolate and drizzle over cheesecake.
mini pink cupcakes with chocolate icing
We are slowly recovering from my sister-in-law’s week long wedding extravaganza. It was a great week spent with close family and friends. It was also a week surrounded by lots and lots of food!
Most of the cooking was done by family and they fed crowds of up to 500 people! I tried to do my part and made items such as quinoa salad, couscous salad, kulfi and smores on a stick. One favorite were these little pink cupcakes with chocolate buttercream icing. They were really supposed to be red velvet cupcakes, like the ones I had made last month for my sister’s birthday. In my hurry though, I forgot to add the cocoa and out from the oven came these little pink morsels. I figured since I missed out on the chocolate in the cake, we must add some on it.
Congratulations to R2. Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness!
Mini Pink Cupcakes
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup homemade yogurt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoons red food coloring
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl whisk together the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla extract, and red food coloring. Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg beating until a creamy texture. Add 1/4 of the flour and mix, then add 1/3 of the buttermilk mix .
Continue adding the flour and the buttermilk until all the ingredients are mixed.
Use two teaspoons and carefully scoop the batter into cupcake papers, about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Transfer the baked cupcakes to a wire rack to cool. Chocolate Buttercream Icing
6 tbsp. butter
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tbsp. cocoa
2 to 3 tbsp. milk
Cream butter. Add sugar and cocoa mixture to butter and mix again. Add milk to the butter mixture until a proper consistency is reached.
kulfi two ways
In our house, we love kulfi. Kulfi is a popular indian ice-cream. It is 3 types of milk mixed together and frozen in a mold. It’s easy, and can be made by anyone since an ice cream machine is not needed.
Using my mom’s recipe, I made some kulfi and froze it in a glass dish, topped with some roasted almonds. I got to thinking though (since I’ve kidnapped my dad’s ice cream machine) – would it taste better if placed in an ice cream machine? Would the addition of air actually change the taste? Using the same recipe, I placed it in the machine to compare.
The answer – YES! The ice cream that came from the machine was more decadent than the kulfi that was just frozen. Hubby was convinced that I used a different recipe since it tasted so different. Don’t get me wrong, we love the kulfi that I have been eating for most of my life. The machine version though, turned it into something very different, in a good way. I just love ice cream experiments!
Kulfi
1 cup whipping cream
1 can evaporated milk
1 can condensed milk
3 splashes of kewra essence
roasted almonds
Mix the milks and essence together and pour into a shallow dish and top with almonds. The mixture can alternately be put into popsicle molds. If using an ice cream machine, add the almonds in the last five minutes.
chicken kebabs
I can’t believe it’s already July. Time is just flying by! We spent Canada Day at Calaway Park which Q totally enjoyed. Luckily he enjoyed the rides, unlike his mamma, and he can’t wait to go back. We just had to finish the day with a bbq. I wanted something easy, that would take a few minutes to pull together. I made the meat mixture for the kebabs before we left for some amusement park fun. Food didn’t take long once we got home and threw the chicken on the grill.
Chicken Kebabs
1 lb ground chicken
1/2 onion, grated
4 cloves garlic, grated
handful cilantro, finely chopped
handful mint, finely chopped
2 TB yogurt
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp paprika
salt
pepper
In a large bowl mix all ingredients together. Let the meat sit for an hour or two in the fridge. Make small logs out of the meat mixture using the back of a wooden spoon. I placed the kebabs in a grill basket and placed it on the grill to avoid it from sticking and falling in. Serve with pita and tzatziki.
jalapeno hummus
With my sister-in-law’s wedding coming up next month, we took the time last week to celebrate with a bridal shower. It was a wonderful afternoon with her close friends and family spoiling the bride-to-be. I think no party is complete without a great dip, so we made sure there were two. I made my usual Roasted Red Pepper Dip. I also made hummus which was served with mini pitas.
A couple months ago, hubby was obsessed with a jalapeno hummus we had at a party so we made a few batches, trying to perfect the recipe. This is the recipe which we came up with, although I did leave out the jalapeno for the party. It’s easy peasy and perfect with bread or veggies.
Jalapeno Hummus
1 28-oz. can chick peas
1 cup yogurt
3 cloves garlic
1 TB tahini
zest of one lemon
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
Dump everything in a food processor and blend until combined.
mini red velvet cupcakes for my sister’s birthday
My sister’s coming for a visit! S currently lives in Tajikistan, a mountainous country in Central Asia. It’s a long way to travel and her visits are always way too short!
With yesterday being my sister’s birthday, we definitely need cake to welcome her home. I had some cream cheese icing in the freezer, just needed a cake that we could slather it on. Besides carrot cake, the only other thing that came to mind was red devil. I had never made it before and on my hunt for a recipe, many had full bottles or more of food colouring! The recipe that I finally settled on only had 1 tablespoon. This recipe for mini red devil cupcakes comes from Simple Recipes. I didn’t have buttermilk so swapped it out with some homemade yogurt (which my mom makes for us weekly – I know, I am so spoiled!).
This was a simple recipe and these cupcakes were delicious! Hope S loves them too!
Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup homemade yogurt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoons red food coloring
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl whisk together the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla extract, and red food coloring. Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg beating until a creamy texture. Add 1/4 of the flour and mix, then add 1/3 of the buttermilk mix .
Continue adding the flour and the buttermilk until all the ingredients are mixed.
Use two teaspoons and carefully scoop the batter into cupcake papers, about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Transfer the baked cupcakes to a wire rack to cool.
For the frosting, I used this cream cheese icing.