Cake House

M y daughter is a big poori and paratha fan, who always want either one of these in her lunch box. I used to search different varieties of parathas and one day when I visited a friend, she gave us aloo/ potato kachori, which was flaky, crispy and tasty. We all ended up eating more than two kachoris, which was impossible. Remembering that, as I didn’t have potatoes at home, I tried kachori using peas filling which were so yummy and delicious. These peas kachoris have become a hit among our guests. They are so easy to make and so delicious that everyone will like these. Peas/ mater kachori is a crisp, flaky texture with flavorful peas filling. Adding amchur/ dry mango powder gives a nice tanginess which can be replaced with lemon juice. This can be had as a snack or as a breakfast. In this, the green peas filling is made along with the spices and stuffed in maida which is rolled to a flatbread and deep fried.   Ingredients: All Purpose Flour- 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour- ¼ Cup Salt- as r...

< Mint < Whipped cream < Broken meringues < Strawberries with lemon juice <Raspberries Stir well before eating to create an Eton Mess

BURNT BUTTER CAKE with Sultanas. This scrumptious unusual cake recipe was given to me by a cousin in the US. You do need to start the day before, or in the morning to make in the afternoon. The nutty smell of the butter as it is burning is just amazing. But you must be careful and you must not stop stirring! In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, place 6 oz unsalted butter. Melt on a medium heat until it starts to froth up, stirring continuously. Keep stirring for at least another 5 minutes, still on medium heat until it is nicely brown and smells divinely nutty. [see photo on my Blog]  Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl to cool, then place in your fridge until it sets.  Bring back to room temperature when you are ready to start. It is so soft and a beautiful colour. See pic on my Blog. It is very easy, if you follow the instructions, but too hot and it will go black, ditto if you stop stirring.  Pre heat your fan oven to 160C and generously butter a 1lb loaf tin, ...

FRUIT AND NUT SLICES Just the most delicious simple treat, not cake, nor biscuit… a bit in between! A doddle to make too. If you wish you can use bought [all butter] shortcrust pastry, making it a complete doddle. Line a Swiss Roll tin - 9” x 13”,  [as thin as possible] with shortcrust pastry, but don't go up the sides. [half butter to 8 oz plain flour, bind with an egg yolk and a tablespoon cold water. Add an oz of caster sugar too, if you wish] Chill in the fridge for ten minutes before using. The original old recipe does not pre bake the pastry but the horrors of soggy bottoms force me to bake blind for ten mins at 190C. I lightly prick the base with a fork as well. Cool while you make the topping. I also mix the cherries with cranberries for variety - plus I needed to use up a packet! TOPPING 4 oz butter 1 beaten egg 3 oz chopped walnuts or pecans 3oz chopped sultanas 4 oz caster sugar 3 oz ground almonds  3 oz chopped cherries 1 oz chopped dried cranberries  vanilla ...

P uffs are the most popular snacks in India. We can see these crispy, flaky savory pastries in almost all the bakeries in India and which is liked by many along with their evening tea. When we were in India, we used to buy a lot of different varieties of filling in puff pastries. Today I have made puffs with paneer filling. These are super simple to made and they are amazingly delicious. All you need to have is puff pastry sheets and paneer. You can also make the filling and shape them in triangles and store in the freezer. Whenever required remove the puffs from the freezer, thaw them till soft and bake till it gets cooked well. An appetizing snack which will be loved by all. You can make puff pastry filling using chicken, mutton, vegetables of your choice or eggs. Egg Puffs are the most popular ones in India. I have posted about egg puffs long bake in my blog. In the US, we will get the veg puffs only in Indian store but not very frequently and to fulfill our desire of eating hot pu...

SLAB CAKE I have recently come across a very old cookery book, entitled Modern Cookery and it is dated 1917. It is full of wonderful old recipes and this is the first of many that I will eventually make, lots reminiscent of a bygone age. The Slab Cake is vaguely similar to heavy cake, but quite different in as much it contains eggs and a raising agent. I am sure many will recognise this cake as something their grandmothers would have made. When I saw it in the old 1917 book I could not wait to try it. I tried to put myself in their shoes and just use the ingredients they specified. I chopped the raisins, used whole milk and also used granulated sugar. A fairly deep square or oblong tin, well buttered. Pre heat your fan oven to 170C 1¼ lb plain flour ¼ lb lard ¼ lb butter 6 oz raisins 6 oz currants 8 oz granulated sugar 1 heaped dessertspoon baking powder 2 eggs ½ teacup milk [this would have been whole or buttermilk] Note: I used a cups measure but added an extra large splash as the do...

N othing can beat a simple homemade burger on a lovely cold evening in the comforts of your home. Rather than store bought burgers, the burgers which you make at home with much fewer calories can be enjoyed without any guilt. All you need is to blend the minced chicken along with spices, dipped in egg and shallow fried, which will make a delicious burger pattie. This will make a perfect school lunch or for parties. This can be prepared within no time if you have all the ingredients with you. This can be ate just like that without sandwiching in the bun. Kids will enjoy them. You can top the patties with mayonnaise/ ranch dressing/ guacamole or anything of your choice. You can also add a slice of cheese or even sour cream. Hope you all will like this. Try this out and let me know. Ingredients: Burger Buns- 6 nos Minced Chicken- 2 Cups Onions- 1 no Garlic- 3 cloves Green Chillies- 3 nos Coriander Leaves- few Red Chilli Powder- 1 tbsp Garam Masala Powder- 1 tsp Pepper Powder- 1 tsp Salt...

I have not been active in this space for some time now. I missed my blog space a lot. I had a lovely short trip to my brother’s place in Ohio and so I couldn’t blog from there, (which I planned to) as I was enjoying with my lovely niece and naughty nephew. This whole time, I didn’t cook anything, as I was enjoying my Sister- in law's amazing dishes. In some of my previous blog posts, I have mentioned about her dishes like the chocolate roll cake and the baked apple roses . As now I have returned, everything is back to normal. I started my routine and so after the break, the post which I thought would be perfect was this snack which is everyone's favorite. We all know that spinach and paneer is an amazing combination in Indian curries. So I thought why not try it out in our favorite samosas. Samosas are deep fried snacks, which has a filling of meat/ vegetables. Samosas are one of the most common snacks in India. They are very special during the month of Ramadan, which is eaten ...