Dhokla

I was talking to my mom in law yesterday and she said she made dhoklas , and shared her recipe.  I usually preferred using the store bought ready made packets of Dhokla , for it was easy and i knew for sure that the results would be delicious, soft and fluffy and I really didn't want to take a chance messing everything up and you get those hard and raw dhokla. BUT after i tried my MIL's recipe, I was so happy with the results  and I didn't have to stack it up in the fridge , it was all over . I've also given them in my lil girls lunch box . i hope she enjoy's them .
Today's Friday and we have a Pot luck for dinner , so I'm making this again today.

I wanted to jot  down the recipe for future reference, because when I think of making a Dhokla again after 3 months , I would have forgotten everything by then  and  this is also for all of my frens who think the store made ready made ones are better off .

Ingredients...

1.  2 cups besan
2.  2 tsp oil
3. 1 tsp lime juice
4. 1/2 tsp sugar
5.  Warm water 
6.  Salt to taste
7. 1 pkt Eno

For seasoning

1. Oil
2. Mustard seeds
3. 2 green chilles cut into small pieces
4. Curry leaves
5. Water
6. Sugar

Let's get Cooking..

1.  In a bowl add besan, sugar, lime juice, oil and warm water and make a smooth batter.
2. Let this batter rest for about 2 hours.
3. Boil water in a steamer and grease a pan
4. Just when everything is ready, add salt and Eno at the end, fold in gently.The mixture will get light .
5. Pour batter in mold and steam with lid covered for 5 mins an high flame and then 15 min on simmered flame.
6. After a total of 20 min, insert a toothpick to check if it is done.
7. Cut into cubes.
8. Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, add chilles and curry leaves.
9. Once the seasoning is ready  add 2 tsps of sugar water to it & drizzle the seasoning over the dhokla.
10. PS : The sugar water helps the seasoning to stick to the Dhokla and doesn't tumble over when you serve.
11. Serve it warm or cold with any chutney of your choice.

Look at how sponge it is . 

Mango cheesecake .

This recipe is  not my original thought and I am not the creator of this recipe , i found the idea of this recipe online , a few mix , matches , trials  and here is a no bake recipe & you don't need a oven for this .

Cheesecakes are soft , jelly like which needs to be set in layers beginning with a hard base made from biscuits & crackers crushed & layered down  and the soft cheese cake on top .Cheese cakes are just cream cheese fluffed in , flavored and put in the refrigerator to set . Mangoes are in season now , ready for the summer , and let me tell you mango & coconut are like the best of friends  , so when we make a mango cheese cake , it is preferred to use coconut biscuits or crackers as the base .Well , I didn't have any  coconut crackers at home , so I used the Graham crackers & the result was good. You can experiment around with the stuffs you already have at home , rather than being recipe specific .. that's  when you let the creative cells flowing down  to  your plate.  

Kids will love it , because it is all jelly , creamy  like ice cream thing . The hardest part is waiting for the layers to set , I couldn't wait to get it ready , so her's the recipe .

Ingredients...

                                   

• (cheesecake)
• 2 fresh mangoes ( 150 gm frozen mangoes)
• 150 g heavy cream
• 150 g cream cheese
• 50 ml mango juice
• 50 g sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 10 g powdered gelatin (add 2 tbsp water and                      microwave at 500 watts for 15 seconds)
• (mango gelatin)

• 80 ml mango juice
• 3 g powdered gelatin ( add 1 tbsp water and                        microwave at 500 watts for 10 seconds )
• (crust)
• 10 small coconut cookies or biscuits
• 30 g butter, melted
• (decoration)
• heavy cream
• mango chunks
• fresh herbs

Let's get Cooking...

1. Put  cookies into a ziplock bag and crush until it resembles coarse crumbs. In a bowl, combine crushed cookies and melted butter. Pour cookie crumbs into a cake pan and press down with a back of a spoon to create the crust. Put in the refrigerator to let the crust set.
2. Combine all ingredients for the rare cheese cake in a blender and mix until smooth. Pour mixture into the cake pan and keep in the refrigerator until set.
3. Combine ingredients for the mango gelatin and mix well. Pour this mixture on top of the rare cheese cake layer. Pour in some cream on top and decorate. Put it back into the refrigerator to let it set.
4. Decorate with mango chunks .

When you are back from a vacation ...

A long vacation to India,a couple of months to say and I am spoiled  utterly . My parents , my husbands parents, my relatives , my friends , all of my near and dear one live in India and it is the perfect place for meet , greet ,eat and treat . I am a big fan of street food , from the gol gappas  to chaat  to faludas , everything has its own divine flavor .

I barely got a chance to cook , because everybody was busy cooking delicacies for me , and now when I am back from India and to my normal life , I am so lazy to go to the Kitchen , to cook a meal or just anything . but nevertheless, you fall in the habit , in the habit of living and for the matter of fact , I've begin cooking again, cooking again to whatever I feel like eating , or whatever pleases my husband and kiddo .

Chocolate Walnut Brownie

                                  

The other day, I had a bite of chocolate brownie my friend had made and have been craving for more since then..I bake a cake or  make something sweet almost once a week just for my little one, to satisfy her sweet tooth and when it comes to chocolate stuffs,be it cakes,cookies or brownies,she loves them,,for we all know how kids love love and love chocolates.
This time,I was making the walnut chocolate brownies and I made sure to add loads of walnuts as well to make it ,,,I can't find a word to write here,,for I can't write "healthier"
Baking a cake is quite a easy task,,least you get your proportions of the ingredients correct,, and my one purpose of writing this down is to exactly put down the measure of ingredients I used today,because any time tomorrow I make one like this,,,I want it to turn exactly like the one I made today..It was so yummy..My husband , Vivek is not a sweet    fan, but he has made countless trips to the kitchen counter to get more and more.....
What is technically the difference between a brownie and a cake is that,,,with almost all the same ingredients ,cake batter additional has baking soda and baking powder which makes it fluffy, soft and spongy while a brownie is dense,compact,doesn't rise in size and more moist inside..
If you make cakes quite often,,you usually have a rough proportion ready in your mind,,flour,butter(oil)  and sugar of the same quantity,plus a handful of extra sugar and few other common stuff.
Usually brownie needs only cocoa powder,,I ran out of them,i had the small chocolate morsels,so I added them instead and they were yet more flavorful.
Here are the list of actual ingredients.

Ingredients:

Flour                  :1cup
Sugar                 :1 1/4cup
Oil                     :1cup
Cocoa Powder   :1  cup( optional, add  chocolate Morsels)
Coffee                :2 tsps
Eggs                   :3
Salt                     :A pinch
Walnut               :1cup

Procedure:

1.Preheat the oven to 350 F
2.Whisk the eggs till fluffy.
3.Add the oil to the eggs and beat.
4.Add sugar,salt,flour,cocoa pwdr,coffee one after the other and whisk to a batter of slightly tight consistency,,we want no flowing consistency.
5.Add the walnuts and fold in gently
6.Bake for 35-40 mins,a tooth pick may not come out clean, but it is done.
7.Cool for sometime and cut  when finish.
8.Top with white chocolate sauce if desired or have as is...

Deep Fried Deviled Eggs

A rainy saturday evening, which means no outings and you gotta have a home meal.
I was in no state to cook and feed,but eventually ended up cooking these yummy Deviled eggs,,which are so easy yet yummy to have...
The best part is you dont need hours of effort to  make them nor do you need a fresh bag full of grocery..
We would just drizzle in a few things that often sit on our kitchen cabinets...
They are quick easy appetizers, that can cheer up a hungry crowd and make them say ,,Wow..

The outside layer  is crunchy and crisp , and the yolk is creamy,tangy and yum.
This combination is what makes this thing a hit,, so try your hands on them..What are you waiting for....

Ingredients:
4 Boiled Eggs
1 Raw Egg
Oil to fry
2 tsp Corn flour
1 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp Mayo
1 tsp mustard sauce
1/2 tsp Chilli Powder
Salt to taste

Directions:
Cut the 4 boiled eggs to half length wise
Scoop out the yolk from the boiled eggs
Whisk one raw egg in a bowl and add a dash of salt.
Roll the half cut boiled eggs one by one in the cornflour.
Then dip them in raw eggs.
Dab them again in bread crumbs.
Deep fry them in hot oil.
Now its time to season the yolks.
Mash the yolks with a fork in a bowl
Add the mayo,mustard sauce and salt.
Transfer the seasoned yolks to a piping bag,like the one you use for cakes.
Squeeze out a small portion of the yolk into each of the fried eggs.
Sprinkle with red chill powder.
All ready to serve...

Argula and Cucumber Salad

Grilled Bokchoy and Braised Mushrooms over Chicken Stock