Pistachio | Aapplemint

Decadent Chocolate Bark

Mar 122013

The Big Food Blogger - Kajal Tejsinghani

I did make it to the Cosmo but not as a fashionista, but doing what I do best …

Chocolate Bark 2

I can’t tell you how excited I am to be a part of the March issue of Cosmopolitan India. I was given the special task to come up with a chocolate recipe that could be prepared in 15 minutes. Almost immediately I was thinking Chocolate Bark. I remember seeing so many wonderful chcolate barks around christmas time, but never really got around to making any. I knew this was the perfect moment for it .

Dark Chocolate, is one ingredient that you will always find in my kitchen. I did make a trip to my favourite store however to pick up the other jewels to stud my bark. Mixing lightly salted nuts with the sweet dried fruit and chocolate is a brilliant thing to do, as your tastebuds will tingle with the different sensations at every bite. My favourite in this is got to be the honey roasted almonds hands down .

There was a little interview that the lovely Priyam from Cosmo India did with me. The whole things was not published so I thought of sharing it here.

Cosmo : Why did you choose to blog about food?

Me : Soon after I got married, I got into cooking with gusto and I started making food that looked good and tasted great. Blogging began honestly to document what I was doing, so I could see my work and have a recipe saved for whenever I needed to make it again.

Cosmo : What kind of work were you doing before then?

Me : Blogging about food is a hobby and not a job. I started blogging while I was living in Africa, where I was handling the logistics for my husbands company. Blogging used to happen post work.

Cosmo : Your cooking style is…

Me : Comforting home style cooking

Cosmo : One secret ingredient that works every time is …

Me : Chicken Powder

Cosmo : Your top tips for cooking at home are…

Me : Always plan before, it saves a lot of time if you are organised. For me thinking what to make takes up more time than actually doing the job. Always keep your kitchen well stocked, you wont believe how easy it is to dish up a lovely meal when you have everything you need lying around.

Cosmo : What’s your favourite cuisine? Why?

Me : Lebanese. A – cuz I make it really well lol but B – honestly cuz its a wonderful balance of fresh and cooked, meat and veggies, carbs and protein. It’s a beautiful sight when the table is laid out and makes you just want to dive in. Works great in parties and even for everyday meals

Cosmo : Which is your favourite eatery in your city?

Me : Fast food : Ram & Shyam Chat Walla , Restaurant : Peshawari, DimSums at China1& Indigo Cafe

Cosmo : How much time do you spend on your blog in a week? (On an average)

Me : About 4- 5 hours the day I belt out a post, including cooking, photographing, writing.

Cosmo : If you could interview one person about food, who would it be?

Me : The person I’d really want to talk to about food and get a few tips from would be Imitaz Qureshi for his Kakori kebabs & Dum Pukht preparations

Cosmo : What other food blogs do you follow? Do you have a food-inspiration?

Me : Some of the food blogs I follow are White on Rice Couple, Matt Bites, Rasa Malaysia, Rosa Maryland, Whats for Lunch Honey

Recipe for Chocolate Bark

This posh looking & tasting dessert, is unbelievable easy to put together. Makes a great after dinner dessert paired with some good dessert wine or a dollop of ice cream or good to eat just as it is.

400 gms – Good quality dark chocolate – I used 4 (100gm) bars of Lindt 70 % Dark

100 gms – Cashew nuts

100 gms – Lightly salted pistachios

100 gms – Honey roasted almonds ( they are sweet and salted )

100 gms – Dried apricots – sliced

50 gms- Pecan nuts

50 gms – Macadamia nuts

50 gms – Cranberries

100 gms – White chocolate chips

Line a 10 X 8 inch rectangular tin with parchment paper. Leave a little extra hanging over so its easy to pull the bark out.

Chop the chocolate into little pieces and put in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 2 – 3 mins stopping at every 30 seconds to stir them.

Once completely melted, pour out in the prepared tin, and very quickly and evenly spread out the nuts and dried fruit on it. Press them a little to make sure they get into the chocolate.

Freeze for about 10-15 mins till set. Remove gently and place on chopping board and cut into desired sized slices/pieces. Store them at room temperature or if you like in the fridge in an air tight container.

Chocolate Banana Muffins & Getting Famous

All, Baking, Featured, Miscellaneous 3 Responses »

May 112012

I know this comes late but I still have to thank my wonderful readers, family and friends for the marvellous support and kind wishes that you sent me on the 29th of April. I knew my article was coming up, but never did I fathom the love and fame that was to follow. I felt like a superstar who broke all box office records .

The week before the article, I received a call from Ismat from Times Life, saying she’d love to interview me along with a couple of very talented food bloggers. I was already jumping with excitement, cuz being featured in Times Life is big !

The day arrived and we planned to meet at Maria’s house. Walked into her lovely terrace house and met Anuja, our photographer for the day from Times Life. Just as we got started on discussing what Ismat had planned for us, in walked Kalyan. The very sweet gentleman who is the author of this fantastic blog called Finely Chopped. Truth be told I had never read either of the blogs earlier and I cannot thank Ismat enough for bringing us together. Maria is one of the sweetest people I’ve met. Bubbly, chirpy, full of life and great wisdom. A super talented mom and gypsy at heart. She writes a blog called Eat,Love,Dance,Pray,Laugh n Hug.

We had all prepared something from home and brought it along for the shoot. Since we just needed stills for the paper it only made sense to do that. Kalyan had prepared a delightful Pesto Pomfret and Tandoori chicken. I fell in love with it, cuz I’ve only had/made pomfret Indian or Cantonese style. The pesto was perfect and the fish tasted wonderful even at room temperature. The tandoori chicken was laced with sumac, which I think was brilliant. Maria had grilled some chicken with whole garlic pods (which are my absolute favorite) and some vegetables. I’m glad she did those, cuz all of us had made meat. And the show stopper for the evening was the most amazing, creamy n soft Red Velvet Cake. One bite of that and I was in cake heaven. I brought along my favorite Bang Bang Chicken and some Chocolate, Banana, Piatachios n Coconut Muffins.

We sat around for a while, plates all set up for the shoot, chatting away and posing, and soon as we were done which was about 6-6:30ish in the evening we starting picking on the food. It was too early for dinner but food so delicious and irresistible and company lovely, before we knew it we laughing and sharing tips, talking about everything from food to kids and Bollywood. We had such a blast. It was wonderful evening and am so glad I got to meet such talented fellow bloggers.

Chocolate Banana Muffins with Pistachios and Coconut

125g unsalted butter, melted
165g caster sugar
3 ripe bananas, roughly chopped
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
250 g self-raising flour, sifted
50 gms ground pistachios
45g desiccated coconut
100g dark chocolate chips
Icing sugar, to dust

Preheat oven to 200°C . I used silicon muffin cases, but the 6 0r 12 muffin mold is fine too. Process butter, caster sugar, banana, eggs and vanilla in a food processor until well combined. Place flour, pistachios,coconut and chocolate in a large bowl, then fold in banana mixture. Working in batches, place dessertspoons of mixture into the molds . Bake for 15 minutes or until risen and golden. Cool slightly in pan, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve dusted with icing sugar.

Mango Tarts

All, Baking, Dessert, Featured 16 Responses »

Apr 272012

For the past whole week, I’ve been having this uncontrollable desire to make Mango Tarts. I’d end up thinking of it at the weirdest of hours and places. It got so bad, that in my dreams last night I was wondering what flavors I would use and what to top it off with. So this afternoon I knew it had to be done. With summer in its full glory, the Mangoes are all over the place and probably the reason why I’ve been craving them. I’ve used Alphonso mangoes, but you could go for any kind you like. You will not believe me when I tell you India alone has about 70 varieties of mangoes, all off which are listed here. I find looking up varieties of fruits and vegetables a really interesting side project to cooking. A little over a month ago when I was having some computer problems, I really found the whole focus to research and blogging was interrupted. Now, with my broadband speed test up to scratch, along with my brand new MAC, I am back to myself, living and loving indulging in the possibilities of my kitchen creations. Back, focussed to my mango tarts. The mascarpone is ever so slightly sweetened and infused with lime zest to cut through the rich filling, but my tart shell recipe is something I swear by. It never fails me and the tarts are crumbly and just so perfect. The marshmallow is what came to me in my dreams. Hahaha, its true, and they do taste quite nice. Just make sure you use unsalted pistachios.

Ingredients

For the Pastry

335g Plain Flour
235g Unsalted Butter
100g Icing Sugar
3 Egg Yolks

For The Mascarpone Filling

1 tub of Mascarpone
3 tablespoons of icing sugar
zest of 1 lime
120 ml whipping cream
3 ripe Alphonso mangoes

For The Marshmallow

Couple of white/vanilla ‘mini’ marshmallows
half cup of chocolate sauce
half cup of coarsely ground unsalted pistachios

Prepare the pastry by rubbing the cold butter with the flour and icing sugar until a fine crumb is achieved. Add the egg yolks and bring together. Divide in two portions and wrap in cling film and chill for at least two hours. Roll out the pastry and line individual pastry rings . Trim off the excess pastry and blind bake in a preheated oven at 180C for about 20 mins or until the base is golden brown. Allow to cool, and store in an air tight box till ready to use.

For the mascarpone filling, simply mix all the ingredients and whip it all up till firm and well blended. Refrigerate till ready to use.

For the mango slices, peel the mango and horizontally cut of the two big cheeks off the mango. Now finely slice them and keep ready to use.

The marshmallows need to be dipped in the chocolate sauce and then rolled in the ground pistachios. Place on a tray and refrigerate till needed.

Now that everything is ready, its pretty easy to put it together. Spoon in the mascarpone filling in the cases. Place the slices of mangoes over it making a rose like shape and top it off with the marshmallow. You can have it immediately but it tastes best after letting it sit in the fridge for about 5 hours.

Eid Mubarak & A Sweet Treat – Firni

All, Dessert, Featured 7 Responses »

Aug 302011

The holy & spiritual month of Ramadan has finally come to an end, and as this wonderful day of celebration sets in, I would like to wish you all Eid Mubarakh ! Eid-ul-Fitr is a joyous occasion and marks not only the end of a month full of fasting, sacrifice, commitment and steadfast prayers but its also a day of gratitude for the everyday blessings in life. It brings together friends and families, and encourages Muslims to continue the teachings from the month of Ramadan throughout rest of the year, particularly the lessons of giving, kindness, tolerance and generosity to the less fortunate. The month of Ramadan has helped us all to generate thoughts that are pure such that we are able to spread sentiments of love. We need to spread the message of peace, first peace within one self, then of course peace that should be shared amongst all around us.

“May the Blessings of Allah keep your heart and home happy and wishing you all once again a joyous Eid Mubarak !”

And speaking of which, no celebration would be complete without something sweet.Usually its Sheer Korma or Kheer for Eid, but for me, Firni hits the spot ! Served chilled, this rich rice and milk dessert is difficult not to like. It is traditionally served up in an earthenware bowls – and not just because that’s the way it’s always been done. The clay absorbs the excess moisture, keeping the rice pudding firm and creamy. Firni seems to have made it way in our hearts, and has been around for long. One of the lovely things the Mughals did was, introduce this delectable dish to us. The origins of it are said to be somewhere in Persia or the Middle East, but these days it’s gaining too much popularity in our nation. And it’s no longer the good old plain Firni. Its taken on may flavours, infused with seasonal fruits and preferred toppings. Firni’s are whole new rage now.The other variations of Firni include Kesar, Badam, Mango, Coconut, Rose, Strawberry and these days I even hear there is a Blueberry! From posh restaurants and to roadside joints, Firni’s are everywhere.

Though there’s nothing quite like the homemade taste and it’s enormously satisfying to make these sweets from scratch. This recipe unlike the traditional rich and heavy ones is a cheat’s version (and I’ve got to thank my best friend’s mum in law for this recipe). I’ve omitted the cream and khoya and opted for toned milk rather than full fat. So it’s easy on the calories and yet it delivers. Flavourful, creamy and every bit festive. I do insist however to try and get some earthen pots. The taste of the clay bowls is irreplaceable and the Firni would be incomplete without them. Inshallah you will love this dessert

Ingredients

1 lt Toned Milk

3 Heaped tablespoons Basmati rice

3 tablespoons Sugar ( adjust to your liking)

1 tsp Kewra Essence ( you can get creative here and substitute for Vanilla essence or any other of your choice)

Handful of Almonds soaked and slivered

Handful of Pistachios soaked and slivered

4-5 Cardamom pods peeled and powdered

Few strands of Saffron for garnish

Silver Warkh (optional)

Begin with soaking the basmati rice for a few hours. 3 to 4 should be enough. If you are using the earthen pots, soak them in a bucket of water overnight. If not, regular glass bowls would also do just fine. Coarsely grind the rice making sure you do not churn it into a paste. Remember the rice will further break on cooking and you do want a little bite to the Firni rather than having it taste like custard. Use some of the milk to grind it. When you have achieved the right consistency, mix it with the remaining milk and pour it in a heavy based saucepan. Start to cook it on medium fire stirring continuously. When it reaches a boil add the sugar and kewra essence and further cook it till it begins to thicken and reduces in quantity. Be patient this could take a while. It shouldn’t be too dry but rather a bit runny. It will further thicken on cooling. Now mix in most of the prepared dry fruit, leaving some for garnishing. Bring to room temperature and pour out in the individual bowls and wrap tightly with cling film and chill in the refrigerator till set. When serving top up with the remaining almonds, pistachios, cardamom powder and saffron. For that extra bit you could garnish with some silver warkh( Silver paper)

Carrot Pudding (Gajar Ka Halwa)

All, Dessert, Featured 17 Responses »

Apr 012011

Ever wonder why we Indian’s are crazy about our Gajar ka Halwa (Carrot Pudding) ? Its hard to resist its rich sensuous red colour, the flavour of fresh seasonal carrots, the smell of ghee and cardamom rising with a soft sizzle, the contrasting texture of crunchy nuts and the saffrony sweetness which engulfs your senses. All this served up hot with a scoop of a vanilla ice cream … I have seen people with with a stiff resistance to sweets dissolve into a simpering helplessness and ask for more !

Mind you, this halwa is an Indian speciality and is made only a few months a year. The star here being the ‘Red Carrot.’ For the longest time I’ve believed that these red carrots grew only in India, and are available only in winter. And its the showing of red carrots in the markets that apprises us that winter is here, and so is the halwa season. This post comes really late as we’ve stepped into summer and these are the last of the red carrots. As you can see the difference in the regular orange carrots and the red ones, you can imagine that the latter is no substitute, in colour and in taste. I haven’t really been very regular with my blogging and my apologies for that. Been busy with a few things,but above all been busy renovations and with home furnishings… you know this can take up so much time and energy.

Now back to the pudding … the usual recipe calls for cooking together the grated carrots, milk n sugar, but I do it differently. My way guarantees a glowing red colour and a very light and not too sweet halwa.

Ingredients

1 kg Red Carrots – grated
1 cup Whole Milk
8 tbsps Ghee
1/2 cup granulated Sugar
1/2 cup slivered Almonds and Pistachios
2 tablespoons Golden Raisins
1 tsp powered Cardamom
Few strands of Saffron

Take a heavy based pan. Place all the grated carrots in the pot on low fire and cover it with a lid, will its water releases. After about 10 mins increase the fire and dry fry it till all the water from the carrots dries up. This brings out its rich red colour. Now to give it body, add the milk, sugar, and cardamom ( you can add more to suit your taste) and let it boil together stirring continuously. As it begins to dry up, add the ghee and raisins. Further fry continuously till all the milk evaporates and the ghee begins to separate from the carrots. By now the halwa will be of a fiery red colour. Serve in a dish and garnish with saffron and slivered dry fruits. Serve hot as it is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Rosé Chikki

All, Dessert, Featured 25 Responses »

Dec 042010

I cannot find an appropriate enough excuse for having disappeared for so long. But not blogging for all these months made me realize one thing … I couldn’t stay away. Its something I’ve been doing for over 3 years now, and its become a part of my life. I missed it. And so I’m back …*crossing my fingers* … and as always its got to be with something sweet !

I’ve been in India for the past 9 months now and being in this part of the world only means one thing – FOOD FOOD FOOD ! Lots of it ! I cannot begin to tell you how I’ve been eating, be it street food, ethnic cuisines, lovely home cooked meals by my mamma or simply stuff I’ve been making with all the great local produce. “Chikki” is Indian for ‘Brittle’. It is very popular all over my country and is traditionally made with jaggery but there are soft brown sugar and white sugar versions too. Actually the variety available these days is insane starting from peanuts, to ground peanuts, sesame, almonds, pistachios, cashews, mixed dry fruits, khus khus, with shredded coconuts, split chickpeas, puffed rice etc … Chikki is very easy to make and is made in many households all over. Though its easily available in shops at every nook and corner, there’s nothing like making your own. And you don’t even need a candy thermometer. We do it the old fashioned way. Below you can see the different kinds of chikki’s that are available and above is Rosé Chikki. Made with mixed dry fruits, saffron, rose extract and topped with dried rose petals. These taste so wonderful and addition of Rose just makes it so much classier. Perfect to impress served just the way they are, or sprinkled on some home made ice cream-it adds that extra crackle and crunch or they are even great as give away presents.

Ingredients

1 tbsp Clarified Butter (Ghee)
1 cup fine white sugar
2 cups mixed dry nuts – cashews, almonds and pistachios
1 tsp pure rose extract
dried rose petals for topping

You will need a heavy bottom pan for making the chikki in and either a marble surface or a rectangular tin well greased with ghee to set it in. Start with heating the ghee in the pan and then add the rose extract and sugar. As soon as it melts and get a light amber colour add the nuts and give it a good stir. Immediately pour it all out on the cold surface or in the tin and evenly and thinly spread it out at a 1 cm thickness. Be careful as its very hot. Either use a rolling pin or grease the bottom of a steel cup and use it to press the chikki evenly. Now very gently lay the dried rose petal leaves on top and gently press them in so they set in. While its still warm use a sharp knife to made the desired sized shapes so its easier to break off once they cool. Store in airtight container.

61st Indepencence Day

All, Dessert 47 Responses »

Aug 152008

Today is a great day to celebrate. After more than two hundred years of British rule, India , after a great struggle, won backs its freedom on 15th August, 1947 and that my friends was 61 yrs ago.
As i awoke this morning i realized how much i was missing being in India, as mum used to always make us wonderful traditional feasts with some really fancy sweets to celebrate today. Being in a far away land and all nostalgic, i couldn’t help but get up n try to recreate the magic. Now getting up last minute does have its advantages and no time to go shopping, and considering the ingredients on hand, i opted for ” Shahi Tukda ” – directly translated to Royal Bite/Piece. Its basically fried bread soaked in rich Rabri. Rabri is milk with dry fruits boiled for hours together until its all evaporated and thick. And besides I’ve seen that almost everybody has a bread dessert in their culture, so what better time to show off mine

I remember making Rabri used to be such a big deal at home. It was dad’s specialty, but he used to make me slog my ass off on it n take all the credit it. He’d put a giant pot of milk to boil over the gas and have me sit right in front as it required constant stirring – FOR HOURS !!! n i absolutely hate milk, n I’d be like dad … i need to go play, its my play time, i don’t want to sit n stir this, n he would be like, every girl should know how to work patiently in the kitchen, playing will not help you in the future, your skills in the kitchen will !! I would sit there with a swollen face stirring that damn Rabri … and the best part was i didn’t even like it back then ! Ha ha, see how times change, and i do thank my dad for all that he taught me, he would be so happy to see this today. But honestly i cant stand for hours together to make it, so I’m doing a cheats version, just as good as the real thing :p

Ingredients

200 ml sweetened condensed milk
200 ml milk ( i used semi skimmed as that’s what was available, you could use whole )
100 ml cream
handful of pistachios and almonds slivers
2-3 pods cardamon
few strands of saffron
4 slices of bread – used brown … at least something should be healthy in here
1 tbsp ghee

In a pot mix the crushed cardamon seeds, milk and condensed milk and boil it for about 10 mins. Add a few strands of saffron, slivered almonds and pistachios reserving some to garnish. When its reduced and thick remove from gas, and cool. Beat the cream lightly to thicken in a bit, but not to much and fold it in the milk mixture. Set aside. Cut the corners of the slice bread and cut it diagonally, leaving with you with triangles. In a frying pan, put the ghee and toast the slices of bread till they are crisp n well browned. Now soak these in the Rabri and leave in the fridge to chill. When ready to serve, place the slices of bread on the plate, pour over the Rabri and garnish with the remaining dry fruits.

And i’m entering this dish for Mona’s Hydrabadi Cuisine Event @ her blog Zaiqa , afterall this dessert originated from Hydrabad !

Ma’moul

All, Baking 72 Responses »

Aug 092008

Ma’moul is a beautiful Middle Eastern cookie. Made from Semolina and stuffed with dates, its hard not to like it.Traditionally they are made in wooden stamp molds a lot like the Chinese mooncakes and are available with different fillings of dates and nuts. I bought some from a Lebanese supermarket the other day, and realized how much i loved them and had to make my own. Obviously as usual, like every creative cook, i had to give it my twist Also i did not have the molds and rolled them with hand instead.They turned out a bit different than i expected, but I’m guessing that’s cuz its homemade and not made on an commercial level. Also recipes differ from person to person, but i quite loved these.

1 cup flour
2 cups semolina
230 gms butter
1/4 th cup sugar
1/4 th tsp baking powder
2 tbsp orange blossom water
1/4th cup water
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups pitted dates
100 gms unsalted pistachios

Start with mixing the dry ingredients i.e the flour, semolina, salt, baking powder together. In another bowl, cream the butter n sugar together till light n creamy. Slowly fold in the dry mixture and then lightly knead in with the orange blossom water and the normal water. Dont be afraid the water is not too much, the semolina will soak it all up. Cover and keep aside for 30 mins. In the meantime chop the dates with a heavy cleaver and mash it all together making a paste. Now roll them in elongated rolls, and keep it ready to stuff the cookies. Chop the pistachios roughly and spread them on a plate. To make the cookies simple take a decent amt in you hand, roll and ball and push in the date filling and cover it with the cookie dough, roll in the pistachios and put it on your silicon baking sheet. Bake for 15 mins at 180C . Remove and cool completely, and try not to eat them while they are still warm , as you may feel a little disappointed. They taste better a few hrs after baking. I would’ve loved to tell you how many this portion makes, but I’ve lost count, i ate far too many and by the time i finished baking i packed the rest off to my mum in law … after taking these pictures ofcourse !

Plum Pistachio n Cardamon Cake

All, Baking 57 Responses »

Jun 302008

My last post on Aloe Vera, was as much of a learning experience for me as it was of sharing. Unfortunately for me, soon after I posted the Aloe post, I had an accident. A jug of boiling water blasted on my right leg, scalding my skin off, and burning me very badly. I was immediately rushed to the doc, who gave me a shot on my butt and a whole lot of medicines to ease the pain. I suffered for 2 days, wondering how was I ever going to wear a bikini again, and how ugly my thigh looks and whether it would ever look normal again. Then I opened my mail box to authorize the comments on the Aloe post, and what i read changed my life. Its something i was aware of, but never did, as i never needed to so far. I read how everyone uses Aloe Vera and keep it in their kitchen to heal their burns. And how miraculously it has helped so many, and healed them, leaving no scar at all. I ran straight for my plant and started applying it 3-4 times daily. Let me tell you dear friends, it’s a miracle from God. Its working like no other medicine would. I’m much better now, with 80% of the burns healed, just need to get rid of the scar. So for all of you little angles who left those comments on my blog, thank you so much. I now encourage everyone to have one Aloe plant in their house. Its a must !!!

And now for my cake today. This is a Plum, Pistachio and Cardamon Cake. Absolutely divine in flavour. Took it for a friends Sunday lunch party and it dissapeared in just a few seconds. The Cardamon really takes this cake into another level. Its soft, the plums make it moist and slightly tart at the same time, tastes very rich due to the ground pistachio and the cardamon makes it very festive. I used very ripe plums, so they were more on the sweet side than sour.

Ingredients

8 ripe plums
75 gms ground pistachios
175 gms self raising flour
175 gms softened butter
175 gms fine sugar
3 eggs
8-10 pods of cardamon

Line your cake tin, and preheat the oven to 180 C.
Wash the plums and cut them in quaters. Dry grind the pistachios, leaving a few behind to use for garnishing. Mix the sifted Self raising flour, butter, sugar, eggs, pistachio pd and cardamon in a bowl. Beat with your electric beater for about 3 minutes, adding a few drops of milk if the consistency is too thick. Now gently mix in the plums and pour the batter into the cake tin. Level it well and garnish with some sliced pistachios. Bake for about 30-40 mins, till skewer comes out clean. Let it cool down, and then dust it with icing sugar. This cake tastes wonderful warm, and best at room temperature.

And last but not the least we have a winner for the pay it forward. Dana Wilson of Vanilla Basil. Congratulations, you should be getting your parcel this week. I also decided to pay it forward to Jaden of Steamy Kitchen. Actually its more of an exchange as shes sending me a wonderful Vietnamese Coffee Press, yay … i cannot wait. So the next time you get paid forward, do spread the love around.

Diwali Greetings and a Meme

All, Dessert 44 Responses »

Nov 072007

So much for me staying away from sweets … Ha ! Well but u cant blame me its Diwali . Hindus all over the world are celebrating the New Year on Friday. I was supposed to be back home by now celebrating with my family, but here i am, thinking about all the fun i am missing out on. Diwali would at par with Christams- for Christians , Eid Al Fitr – for Muslims , The Chinese New Year – for the Chinese, and so on …. i guess u get the idea
I remember when i was younger, i would really look forward to Diwali … firstly for the 15 days of holidays, and then the new clothes, visiting my cousins and grandparents , getting together n bursting fire crackers at night, lighting lanterns and little diyas( little mud n oil candles) that would sparkle in the dark, distributing sweets, and the best part of it all would be collecting money from our elders. All of us 8 cousins used to shower n wear our new clothes and be ready early in the morning and as soon as our grandparents, n uncles n aunties used to come we used to make them line up them and start touching their feet for blessings ( thats a traditional thing ) and then in return collect brand new crisp notes of 10 /20/50 rupees. Hehe … n during these 2-3 days all relatives come to greet u , so we would be asking for everyones blessings .. n ofcourse blessings came with a 20 buck note tucked in … so by the end of the season we used to all be rich . Well now tables have turned … i find myself giving money to the little rascals in my family now … , but yes its alawys fun .

Well so heres wishing all my dear friends a Happy Diwali n a Prosperous new year. May you have the best year ahead with gr8 joy n happiness, gr8 health and of course tons of wealth

Its a festival of light, love, sharing and caring and now i miss my mum She used to make Shrikhand and Puri along with a lot of other delicacies on the big day. Shrikhand would be fresh curd tied in a muslin cloth and hung overnight in the fridge till all the water drained out, leaving a thick rich creamy curd. I wanted to make some my self but i used mascarpone instead … thought triple cream would be a nice substitute to hung curd. I made 2 flavours here. The first would be pureed mango, saffron a bit of caster sugar n mascarpone. And the second is mascarpone, cream , caster sugar , cardamom , pistachios and caster sugar. Layer them in the glass and top up with sliced pistachios and saffron. Chill and serve.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5020/thinkingbloggerpf8.jpg

And now for the Meme ! Last week Francesco of The Food Traveller nominated me for the “Thinking Blogger Award”. Its my first time ever participating in one , and this one is pretty simple. Just have to name 5 blogs that make you think, say a few things about them and invite them to do the same. Francesco is far to kind to put me on top of his list. Its truly an honour to know that someone who has such a fantastic blog himself thinks my blog is worthy of praise. I am humbled by his kind words. And now to talk about my 5 , the ones that really inspire me and make me think … (BTW look here for the rules.)

1 . Matt from Matt Bites

Who is one of the sweetest person i’ve come to know through blogging. He is extremely talented, kind, helpful, funny, honest and all that reflects on his blog.

2. Nolan from Chef Ledarney

A Canadian Chef in Japan, an artists soul trapped in a chefs body and a super chef in the making …( wow did i just “chef” 3 times in a sentence!) … gr8 now go chk out his blog …

3. Keiko from Nordjlus

Without whom i dont think i would’ve had this blog today. I stumbled onto her blog last year
and was so inspired by it , i had to make my own, i was so excited i even wrote to her before i started off and then of course as soon as i did she was there to support me with her kind words

4. Mohini from Mango Power Girl

Is from Seattle and has come to become a very close friend, all thanks to blogging. She has a fine vegetarian blog, and personally i think its a gr8 challenge to be veg !

5. Bea from La Tartine Gourmade

Who’s creations and photography are spectacular. Always an inspiration to me .

There are many more wonderful blogs that i’d like to nominate but that would be breaking the rules … aww i wish it were’nt only 5 !!!

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