Mousse~ A Blog Hop Week 21

For Blog Hop Wednesday Radhika paired me with Ruchira Hoon Phillip I was delighted as I was paired with someone I admired. Ruchira blogs at  Cookaroo  and she is amazing. If cooking is a passion then Ruchira is passion personified!

If you don’t believe me just check her recent posts where she has made a Flowerpot Cake, complete with the fondant flowers. The amount of patience she has to make these beautiful flowers and not to mention the research and the preparations (for one I hate the collecting of all the ingredients especially when I have to pick up things from two different parts of the city, thank Goa Panaji is a small place, but I still hate it). Then she has these Nutella Cake, brownies. These are just few examples there are many more. Do go through her place.

As I went through the blog I remembered a delicious mousse that I had seen and wanted to make for some time now but kept postponing. 

What better time than now and what better than chocolate.

Ruchira’s recipe serves 3 so I doubled her recipe.

I started by measuring out double the semi sweet chocolate, as the Supermarket has run out of my brand of Dark Chocolate and then opened the new packet of white chocolate.

 Can you imagine my shock to see no white chocolate inside?

 Then I read the cover and saw that it was milk compound and I assumed that white chocolate and milk compound is same. How I can make the same mistake again and again I do not know but there is some wiring problem in my brains I am sure.

Then I consoled myself as younger kid and I do not enjoy white chocolate that’s fine. Will have a shade darker mousse it will not black and white mousse but brown and light brown mousse.

Then as I was whipping the cream my elder daughter, Apeksha requested me not to make it just chocolate layers but to add a layer or whipped cream. So I ended up with 9 servings of mousse. 3 small and 6 big, small for the dieters and rest for us to hell with diet(ers).

Like most sweets in my house I expected there will not be many takers therein lay my mistake. Apparently the mousse was better than the local bakery; (“much much better” were the exact words! That is high praise from my 18 year old) and the mousse was much appreciated.

I am glad I took the pictures when I did for if I waited to setup my stage alias washing machine for my pictures …  I would have just post the recipe sans the pictures… for the pictures had to be taken today and by the time I came back from work there were empty glasses to greet me.  

For the original Black and White Mousse please click here.

Carrot Rice ~A Blog Hop

For Blog Hop this time Radhika has paired me with Santosh Bangar of Santosh’s Kitchen. I was amazed at her versatile creativity. Simple to the exotic dishes with a wide range of ingredients that is Santosh’s Kitchen!

I wanted to try out brinjals or eggplant especially the fusion variety. I even brought the ingredients needed but I find myself short of time. I was supposed to make it on Sunday but then I had forgotten that we were supposed to have a party for our friends. So my Sunday was spent in a shack at the Banastri River. What a lovely time we had!!

So the lovely brinjals were back in the fridge!! 

Cucumber Rolls~ A Blog Hop#18

My brother and SIL had come down with his bundle of joy for three days.

I was to make supari with my father’s help and show Pooja, my SIL, some simple cakes. But the supari is on my kitchen shelf and the cakes are just not made.  I do not know where the days flew! One 7 month old baby Ayan and he had all of us dancing!

Before they left Pooja made us a delicious pancake and ice cream dessert  will share the recipe soon. They left for the US yesterday but it feels like ages that they have gone and the house feels empty without Ayan. May be next time I will do better.

Today I have some more relatives though there is no baby involved here I will be busy   to add to my woes the computer is acting up and I am not getting my daily fix of visiting my friends. Will do so after they leave hopefully for by then the Rain God will be visiting us........ And life continues.

But for today’s Blog Hop Radhika the brain behind it has paired me with Jayanti of Sizzling Veggies. In case you have not been there you are missing a treat. The pictures are a visual treat and the recipes are mind blowing. I had a hard time trying to choose what I wanted. Had I made something when Pooja was here then it would have definitely been Almond Cherry brownies but that was not to be.

 I had to go to the internet cafe to get my recipe and the first thing I saw was these awesome cucumber rolls.  I had to make them.

Whole Wheat and Corn Flour Muffins~ A Blog Hop

Last time I was sure it was my last Blog Hop as I missed the dates.

 I posted on 14^th instead of 11^th lucky for me I just caught the linky. The question that kept on seeping in my thoughts was “Am I still a member of this group.” Can you imagine my happiness when I saw Radhika’s mail informing about my partner for Blog Hop. Thanks Radhika.

For this times Blog Hop I am paired with Priya Srinivasan of Enveetu Kitchen!!

The choice of the recipe was easy as there was a demand for muffins, the chocolate chip ones from the kids. I generally do not want to use refined flour while baking so any recipe that uses whole wheat in muffins and cakes I bookmark. This is one down on my bookmark list but they are so delicious, tasty and soft that I will be making these muffins repeatedly.

Tomato Rice ~A Blog Hop

F or the Radhika's Blog Hop this time I am paired with Kaveri again.

I wanted to try some of her rice recipes so as I was prowling her place she posted this yummy Tomato Rice. This one was quite different from what I make so I was definitely interested. 

 I did not have peas else I am sure the rice would have looked and tasted better.  

 Here is Kaveri’s Version. 

 Ingredients:

2 ½ cups rice cooked and fluffed

2 onions

4 Tomatoes  

1 Green Chili   

½ tsp Turmeric Powder

1 tsp Chili Powder (adjust as per taste)

1 tsp Masala powder (which was left over)

Oil

Mustard seeds

Cumin seeds

 Salt to taste

 Sugar (optional)

Method

1.     Finely chop onions and tomatoes. Slit the green chilly.

2.     Heat oil and ghee in a Kadhai, once the oil is heated, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds till the mustard splutters.

3.    Add the green chili and chopped onions. Sauté till onions are transparent.

4.     Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, and fry till oils separates.

5.    Add salt, masala and red chili powder. Mix well.

6.     Finally add the cooled and cooked rice and mix well. Adjust salt.

7.     Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.( I did not have any so there is no garnish in mine).

Linking it   to Blog Hop Wednesday Week #14

Archana

Potato Fry~A Blog Hop

For the last few months I have not been able to read, comment or post maybe it’s a writer’s block or because I have not been too well. 

I had a scare that I will be getting carpel tunnel syndrome  added to it was tremendous weight gain, general aches and pains that keep me away from the computer.  Compounding my heartache was  that one of my friend’s is suffering from cancer and another friend’s 5 year old is also down to the dreaded disease.  Both have to undergo chemo and radiation therapy. This is enough to depress me!!

 So I have been living commitments to commitments. Of which Blog Hop happens to be one!

Cup Cakes~A Blog Hop

Blog hop this time Radhika has paired me with Priya of Now Serving!

If you know not Priya then you are missing deliciously simple recipes conceived out of a Mother’s love to nourish. Do visit her.  She is a multifaceted personality always helping others. She was one of the many who guided me when I started out from anonymous blogger to the present day avatar.

Now choosing from Priya’s place is difficult for I was like a kid in the sweet shop. But my niece had come over with her mom for just 2 days.

Micro wave Orange Cake~A Blog Hop

Since my husband & I have our birthdays just 4 days off one another we celebrate together. But this time I wanted to surprise him with a cake on his birthday.

Surprise has to be surprise does it not? So what better than a cake that cooks in the microwave and in 12 minutes when he is at walk, best time his evening walk?

So I baked this cake for him from Mom’s Corner by Rudra my partner for Blog Hop for this fortnight.In case you have not checked her corner till now do so now.Thanks to Radhika who is the brains behind the entire operation! You can join the gang subscriptions to the new version are open till the 15th  Dec.

Black and White Wednesday Godi Kutid Payasa~ A Blog Hop

Blog Hop one schedule that I thoroughly enjoy.

 Though I am taking care not to tax my fingers a lot this one piece is typed out in bits and pieces and over a long period. Hopefully by the end of the next month my fingers will be better.  Okay enough of this Old Woman cry baby story let’s get down to today’s post.

I was eager to try out some payasa/payasam/kheer dishes as I had performed the “Vaibhav Laxmi Varat” and the last day I was to invite some friends over and the nevidya was payasa. To add to the pleasure of cooking some sweet, that I love, was the fact that my father had come for his health check up and was given a clean chit. So this was celebration all the way!!J

Dates Ladoo ~A Blog Hop & An Award

Variety is the spice of life and Blog Hop adds to it.

As this is where you try out dishes from your partner’s blog to suit your palate the idea is Radhika’s brain child.

How does Blog Hop add to variety? Well I go through my partner’s posts in greater detail so in this sense I am coming to know newer likeminded people. All of us are connected through our love for food and serve a better variety with love.

Black and White Wednesday and Vada Pav~~ A Blog Hop #8

For Today's Blog Hop, a fantastic way to make new friends, which happens to be Radhika's brain child  I was paired with Rinku Naveen ,of Rinku’s Kitchen. Do visit her for delicious dishes especially recipes from Kerala. I have bookmarked quite a few from this wonderful Blog.

After Diwali and the sweets that we (read I) had eaten I wanted to make something savoury but something deep fried in continuation with the festive season.  Deep frying in my place is some kind of a rarity because being asthmatic I suffer a lot after frying.

 What better than Vada Pav. Filling and delicious street food made home and as kiddo said Indian Burger an explanation she gave her friend and exactly as Rinku has described.

Black & White Wednesday & Molten Lava Cake ~A Blog Hop #7

F or Blog Hop Wednesday I am paired with Vidhya of Sugar ‘N Spice.

As I hopped around my daughter was next to me and that was the end for almost immediately I landed on  her cake Molten Lava Cake which my daughter calls as Choco Lava Cake and insists on visiting Dominoes Pizza for just that.

I am sorry Vidhya but my hop was a bit too short lived for my liking she was adamant that I see no more recipes worried that I may change my mind.

Palak Chakali~ Blog Hop #6

F or today’s Blog Hop the brain child of Radhika I am paired with Suchitra of  Simple Indian Food. Not only does Suchitra have an enormous number of recipes she has also featured new budding bloggers in her blog.

I have bookmarked quite a few recipes to be tried later.  But being festive season I was keen on trying some savories. But savories I wanted had to have some health quotient in them, what better way to have them but to add veggies.

Black & White Wednesday & Mattar Paneer~Blog Hop# 5

For today's blog hop I am paired with Radhika of Tickling Palates and the brain behind the wonderful Blog Hop.

Radhika has a number of exiting recipes and I have bookmarked quite a few recipes. In fact I made this delicious Mattar Paneer (click here for the link) last Wednesday when it was "Avidhwa Navami".

Paneer and Tofu Tikka Burger~Bloghop Wednesday #4

For the Blog Hop this time I am paired with Prathima of Prats’ Corner.   

 

Now came the biggest challenge what to make. For each recipe that I read I wanted to make! Finally I choose this Paneer Tikka Sandwich recipe for it falls in is an entry for my current event (Please send me your entries for I have hardly any) and most importantly I was sure my kids would love it.

Chilli Corn Wedges~~Blog Hop 3

 For this week’s Blog Hop initiated by Radhika  of Tickling Palates I was to visit Monika of Sin-A-Mon.

 The place is wonderful to say the least. Lovely recipes and pictures! As I was going through her blog I came across this recipe Chilli Corn Muffins!!

Honestly they are Chilli Corn Muffins to a person who associated muffins with sweets this was a full stop, my choice for today’s BlogHop,all the other delicious recipes that I have bookmarked will be tried later.

Here is the recipe that I have used.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup corn flour

½ cup Maida

3 eggs

¼ cup corn kernels

1 onion, chopped

2 green chillies (could have used more)

4 flakes garlic

1 tsp chilli flakes

½ tsp oregano

3 leaves of basil

3 mint leaves

½ cup cheese

½ cup milk

1 tsp baking powder

 Salt to taste

Method:

1.     First I washed the corn kernels added enough water to cover the corn and salt and pressured cooked them for 2 whistles.

2.   Since I have one kid who does not like biting in chillies I decided to grind the chillies, garlic but since the quantity was too little for the mixer I added ¼ cup of onions, the oregano, mint and basil to make a fine paste.

3.     Preheat the oven to 180°C.

4.     Next mix both the flours and the baking powder and salt.

5.     Since I cannot fin the muffin papers here in Goa I decided to use the regular round mould (by hindsight I should have used a smaller one or the ice cream tray) greased   well.

6.     Beat the eggs and milk and mix in the flours till well incorporated.

7.     Fold the chilli paste, corn, cheese.

8.     Transfer to the mould and bake for 30 minutes.

9.     Once done let it sit in the tray for 10 minutes before turning it on the wire rack.

10.   If you are lucky family will wait for it to cool down, you can cut them and dish them beautifully else you get pictures like mine here.

Off these go to 

Archana

Healthy Savoury Dosa~Bloghop Wednesday

There are 2 events around which my kitchen revolves these days they are ….
First is my Event – The Lets Get Stuffed ~Bell Peppers or Capsicum and second is The BlogHop Wednesday!

I expect all of you my dear friends to don your thinking hats and send me exiting entries for stuffing the Bell peppers or Capsicum. Here are some of mine.

And yes I am a part of this exciting experiment started by Radhika of Tickling Palates. We are paired with different partners every other Wednesday and this week I am paired with Kalyani also known as Mom Chef!
 
The title suits her to the T or should I say C? Amazing recipes & pictures!

I was totally at sea for I was just seeing each recipe seemed better than the earlier one! Finally I choose the simple Healthy Oats Dosa or The Savoury Oats Dosa!!

Here is Kalyani’s recipe …

Here is mine as usual I had to fiddle with the ingredients. My husband’s my best critic and friends words not mine so I was expecting a total failure in the system so I was quite amazed at the results!!

My daughter, the younger one loved it and polished off 3 small ones. Mind you I am not complaining she is most welcome it is a BIG COMPLIMENT! The “kurkur kombdi“ that is the loosely translated as the brooding hen or clucking hen eating without complaints!

Ingredients:
1 cup Oats, crushed
1 tblspn rice flour
½ cup Rava
1 tblspn barley flour (optional)
¼ cup besan/kadli hit/chana daal flour
Salt
Chopped green chilies (optional)
Chopped coriander
1 onion, finely chopped
½ cup butter milk
Oil
For tempering: Mustard seeds, jeera/ cumin seeds, and hing/asafetida

Method:
1. I soaked all the dry ingredients in the butter milk and since the batter was not the consistency needed for dosa hence I added water.
2. Let it stand for 15-20 minutes.
3. Make the tempering by heating the oil and spluttering the mustard, jeera/cumin seeds/jeerigi and hing/asafoetida. Pour in the batter. Mix well.
4. In the batter add the chopped onions, coriander, chillies and salt.
5. To make the Dosa: add a ladle full of the batter on the non-stick tava lightly greased.
6. Spread lightly. Cover and cook.
7. Flip on the other side cook and serve with chutney or as kiddo had with tomato ketchup.
After the first Dosa I did not use oil at all.

Thanks Kalyani for this wonderful inclusion in my daughter’s diet and Radhika for I have the opportunity to meet new friends and try different recipes!

Please do send me some entries for my event here.

Archana

Quick Fix Microwave Brownie(Egg-Less)- The Blog Hop 1

They say Man proposes God disposes!

Here is an example of how you plan and how you change plans or how things get sidelined…

My father was to come here to Goa for a minor knee surgery, a one day procedure so I knew he was to stay with us from 12^th July and I expected him to want to go back by the 31^st. But that was not to be, we discovered that he has some other problems about which none of us were aware of, even Pappa himself!

 After going in and out of hospitals and a battery of investigations we have discovered that he needs a pacemaker!! It’s a minor procedure very routine but he is my father and I am worried and upset.

The silver lining is that he will be okay!!

Now, because of this I have been unable to post any recipe in My First Event for I have not stuffed the capsicum that I have brought for the purpose. Sorry Vatsala will do so immediately in the next week (I hope)!

Also I am a part of Blog Hop,  Radhika of Ticking Palates’s  brainchild and an amazing effort  and I am paired with Deepali of  The Confusion Cook so I was to select and cook something from this space.  And was I excited about the whole thing!!   

Unfortunately however or should I say fortunately I have tried the recipe' Quick Fix Microwave Brownie, I choose only once and Kid No. 2 took pictures (thank God or I would not have had anything to post today not even the empty bowl).  It disappeared in minutes in fact we did not wait for the ice cream also it just vanished in a poof.

I was to make it once more, in a larger batch and serve it with a selection of ice creams like coffee, vanilla and chocolate but I am sorry I just cannot. Not just right now!  Not only do I lack the will but also the time.  I am sorry being a wet blanket but what are friends for? I am sure you will understand.  I expect you to participate in my event and pray for me to have strength in these times.

Here is the link to Deepali's recipe for Quick Fix Microwave Brownie!        

The only change is I used Amul butter and hence no salt  also I heated the milk and butter in the micro for 10 secs to melt the butter and since I had no chocolate chips so I used 4 kisses dark chocolate !! Yummy!!

Maybe next time I make it I will twist it!! Just maybe…. only time will tell :-)

My thanks to Radhika for introducing me to amazing cooks and hats off for the amount of planning and dedication needed to pull of an event!

 http://ticklingpalates.blogspot.com/p/blog-hoppers.html

http://madscientistskitchen.blogspot.com/2011/08/you-are-invited-to-my-very-first-event.html