"Sweet Treats"- Fruit Custard in Filo cups

For last weeks Potluck, I was in charge of making the dessert.Potlucks are a lot of fun, especially since, you get to meet everyone and also taste variety of good food. Needless to say, it adds 'happy pounds' on you!!!
So the menu for this weeks potluck was...2 types of pastas, a soup, a salad and then a dessert.Everything tasted good and we had a satisfying meal at 'V''s new house.

Ingredients:
For Fruit Custard

Milk
Custard powder of your favorite brand and flavor
Fruits cut into bite size pieces: Apples,peeled oranges,Pineapple, grapes, bananas
Handful of chocolate chips
Vanilla essence
Sprinkles for decoration

1) Make the custard according to directions on the custard powder can.Let it cool
2) Add the Vanilla essence,chopped fruits,chocolate chips and chill in refrigerator.

Phyllo/Filo Dough Cups:
6 Phyllo sheets
2tbsp melted butter
muffin pans
1) Thaw the filo dough as per packet directions
2) Place 1 rectangular sheet of filo on cutting board. Apply melted butter gently with a brush.Apply through the whole sheet. Be gentle, otherwise the sheets will tear.

3) Place next sheet on top of this buttered sheet.Apply butter.Repeat the same and stack all sheets on top of one another.Cut into 6 squares and place them in muffin pans.

 4) Bake at 350F for 8-10 mins till golden brown.Check packet for exact baking time for that brand of filo dough.

5) Let the filo cups cool before filling with fruits custard.

6) Just before serving, fill the cups with cold Fruit custard till the top and garnish with sprinkles.

The crisp buttery filo along with chilled creamy fruit custard gives a wonderful explosion of textures in every bite!

"Appetizers"- Black- Eyed Beans Fritters/ Chavali che Vade/Vada

 'M' is out for work for 2 weeks, and my friends have been taking good care of me!!!!Almost everyday I have been going to lunch or dinner at some friends house...love you all for being so nice!!!
"A" had invited me over for dinner a couple days ago. I decided to make these fritters to take over, which I had been wanting to try out for so long.This is my friend Manisha's recipe.She says it was passed onto her by her 'in -laws'. The fritters/ vadas are crisp on outside, soft and spicy on the inside and have an 'irrestible' taste.
You got to try these out!

Ingredients:
1cup Black-eyed beans
1-2 green chilies
2 clove garlic
1tsp ginger paste
1tsp cumin seeds
1/2tsp Turmeric
salt
oil to fry

Method:
1) Soak the black eyed beans for 5-6 hours in water. Drain all the water.
2) Grind the beans along with ginger,garlic, green chilies,cumin,salt etc with minimal water into a coarse paste.
3) Add the turmeric and mix well.

4) Add small lemon size batter into hot oil and fry on medium heat till golden brown.
5) Serve hot along with a 'tangy' sauce like 'Maggie hot and sweet chili sauce' or plain ketchup.

My version of 'Hot and sweet' sauce:

1/4 cup Plain ketchup
1tsp Red chili-Garlic paste (store bought)
1/2 tsp sugar add more for more sweeter taste.
1/4 tsp salt
water to thin out the sauce
Mix everything together to get Spicy-Tangy-Sweet Sauce that goes well with anything and everything!!

"Appetizers"- Eggplant Rollatinis

Are there any 'food choices' that are different between you and your significant other? They say that....after years of living together, a couple becomes 'like' each other. Do their food preferences change too???

Between me and 'M', there are many 'food differences'. I love Rice and dishes made with rice.He eats rice in the form of 'Biryani' only. I like eggplant.He hates eggplant.I like bananas.He can't stand bananas.I like prawns....he can hardly taste them....

So, when he is out for work..I indulge into my favorite foods!!! 

This was one such 'Eggplant' indulgence for me....

Ingredients:
8 Eggplant slices(about 3/4th cm thick, cut from center of a large eggplant)
1/4cup Cream cheese
1/4 cup pepper jack cheese shredded
2tbsp Parmesan cheese
1/2tsp red pepper flakes
1/4th tsp ground black pepper
1/4tsp garlic paste
1/4th cup chopped cilantro
salt
oil
Maggie hot and sweet sauce/ Marinara sauce/ ketchup

Method:
1) Apply salt and pepper on the eggplant slices. Rub a little oil.Grill on a 'grill pan' for a minute on both sides to cook the eggplant and get those gorgeous 'grill marks'.
( I love to eat the grilled eggplant just by itself too!!!!)

2) Mix the cheeses, red pepper, black pepper, salt, cilantro,garlic. etc to get the filling.
3)  Place the filling in the center of the grilled eggplant and roll it up into 'Rollatini'

4)  Serve along with Maggie hot and sweet sauce ( this one is my favorite.I can eat anything and everything with it!!!)  or Marinara sauce or Plain ketchup.

5) You can also bake the Rollatinis before serving with extra sauce and cheese on top.

                Enjoy the cheesy,spicy eggplant rollatini warm or hot!!

"Sweet Treats"- Brownies

Brownies brownies and more brownies....

The theme for 'A's 1st and 'E's 4th birthday party was 'Candyland'.

Along with the various other types of candies and chocolates....I made these brownie squares and brownie pops to go with the theme.
I started with "Betty Crocker' Brownie mix and then jazzed up the brownies..my way.

Brownie Squares

1 Box Betty Crocker brownie mix ( plus water, oil, eggs etc mentioned on the box)
3/4th cup all purpose flour
1 Unsweetened Apple sauce can(4oz)
Icing writer/icing gun/ pastry bag
flower candy for decoration

Method:
1) Mix brownie mix, water,oil,eggs, all purpose flour, apple sauce.
2) Grease a cookie sheet and spread the brownie mixture onto the cookie sheet to get 'thin' brownies.
3) Bake as per box directions
4) Let the brownies cool for 1/2 hour. Cut into squares.
5) Decorate each individual square with icing and decorative candy

Brownie Pops
These are a fun way to eat brownies!

1 Betty Crocker brownie mix
Icing writer/tube in pink and white
Sprinkles for decoration
Lollipop sticks
plastic wrap
ribbon
Muffin pan
Wilton 'flower' shaped brownie pan

Method:
1) Bake the brownies in flower shaped pan and in muffin pans.
2) After cooling, decorate as desired with icing gun/pen etc.
3) Decorate with sprinkles

4) Wrap with plastic wrap, insert lollipop sticks and tie a ribbon

"Pat a Cake"- 'Truck' shaped Eggless Chocolate Cake

Last week my little 'E' turned 4 years old.In these 4 years, his mind has mostly been pre- occupied by 'Trucks,cars, bulldozers, diggers,dump trucks,monster trucks,Big mighty machines and yeah how can I forget......Trash can trucks i.e Garbage trucks!!!! All he thinks, dreams, talks about is.... these things. He told me once..'he is filling 'gas/petrol' into 'Ganapati bappa' to make him stronger!!!
Needless to say..for his b'day the cake had to be 'this' shaped!

Ingredients:
I doubled the following recipe to get 1- 9x9 inch square cake and 6 cupcakes.
1 and 1/2 cup all purpose flour (sifted)
3/4th cup Granulated Sugar
1/3rd Cup Canola oil
1/4 th cup Cocoa powder
1tsp Baking soda
1/2tsp salt
1 and 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tbsp Vinegar
1 cup cold water

Icing:
1 can Pillsbury white whipped icing
Food colors-red,yellow,blue
Cocoa powder for brown icing
M and M's, other candies for decoration.
Icing gun/bag
toothpicks


Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 350F (preheating is very imp). Grease the 9x9 inch pan and muffin pan with vegetable shortening. Apply liberally in all corners.Dust with all purpose flour to coat the pan.
2)First sift flour, sugar separately.Then by a spoon add to the measuring cup to measure exact amounts.Level with a knife.DO NOT pack the flour into the cup.The ratios will change and the cake will not come out as good.
3) Mix wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls.
4) Mix them together in a single direction.Bubbles will appear as vinegar reacts with baking soda.Do not over mix.But all the lumps should be gone
5) Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 mins.Do not open the door for first 20 mins atleast.
6) Check with a tooth pick, if the cake is done.The inserted toothpick should come out clean.
7) Flip on a serving platter carefully
8) Let it cool for 1/2hr or so before icing.

9) Cut off the cup cake tops to makes them smooth and look like tires.
10) Cut a ' big rectangle' of about 6x4in from the square shaped cake.This will be the trucks main body.
11) For the trucks upper body cut relatively small..about 4x3inch rectangle/ cut 2 small rectangles to give that 'hood' shape.
12) Assembly: Place 2 cupcakes on the tray.Place a small rectangular strip of cake on the cupcakes and on the sides to give more support.

Place the big rectangle on top.The small rectangular piece on top of the big rectangle. Use the white icing to stick all these pieces together.Place the 4 cupcakes like wheels to the 4 sides.Secure with toothpicks and stick with white icing.

 13) Mix the white icing with desired colors.I used 'red' for main truck body.Yellow for the windows.Brown/chocolate icing for the tires.I used 'flower'/star' tip of the icing gun to make the patterned icing.Use m and m's/ spice drops as lights.For the treads on the tires, I used a toothpick to draw the lines and pattern. Decorate as desired.You can crush some chocolate cookies on the base pan to show 'dirt' on the road.

From back side:

"Appetizers"- Fish (Tilapia) Tikki/ Macchi ki Tikki

Yeah...I am back!!!!! The birthday party is done and I am left with lots of clean up to do, lots of gifts to unwrap with the kids and an 'empty' feeling. When you are preparing for an event..you have so much energy and enthusiasm...but when it's done....uffff I hate that after the event clean-up and  'I have nothing to do' feeling....
Anyways.....yesterday I went to dinner at 'T' and 'S'....and I took along these Tikkis with me.
These 'Macchi' Tikkis ( my father would mostly call fish as 'macchi') are a great way to finish up the remaining 1-2 fillets of fish in the freezer that remain ....which won't be enough for the next meal...and you don't know what to do with it.
Here is USA, you get fish fillets and hence makes it much easier to make the tikkis.In India my mom would have to sit and take out all the bones from the cooked fish ,before she could make the 'fish' filling.

Ingredients:
For the filling:

2 Tilapia fish fillets
1/4th cup chopped cilantro
1green chili finely chopped (add more for spicy tikkis)
1/4 tsp black ground pepper
1/2tsp Tandoor chicken masala
1/4tsp garlic paste
1tsp oil
salt

For the cover:
4 boiled potatoes mashed well
1/2tsp cumin seeds
1/4th cup bread crumbs
salt
1/2tsp garlic paste
oil

Method:
1) Rub salt and black pepper on to the fish.Fry on little oil on both sides.Fry till the fish is 'opaque' and well cooked.
2) To the cooked fish add green chilies, garlic paste, tandoor chicken masala,cilantro.Break the fish into small pieces.This is the filling for the tikkis.

3) To the mashed potatoes add cumin, garlic paste,bread crumbs, salt and knead like a dough.
4) Make lemon size balls of the covering and stuff with spoon full of fish filling.

5) Cover the filling on all sides and make into 'tikki' shape.
6) Shallow fry on little oil till golden brown.
7) Serve hot with Maggie 'Hot and sweet chili sauce'.Enjoy!!!

Slow On Blogging for next few days...

It's Party Time!!!!

I can't believe how fast a year can go by....

My little 'E' is going to be a big boy turning 4 years....and my little peanut 'A' is going to be 1 year old!!!
Next few days...I am going to be busy preparing for their BIG day and making it special for them.

Will get back to sharing mouthwatering recipes soon...
Till then...
Buhh Byeee
Deepti

"For Little Tummies"- Spinach Dosa with Walnut or Peanut Chutney and Potato Bhaji

As a mother of two little kids,sometimes 'putting a meal together' seems like a problem solving process to me.There are various conditions- it has to healthy, can be ready in less time, it is not too tricky to make, can be made with ingredients that are on hand etc etc. With all the conditions...finally you should be able to make something that everyone in the family likes and tastes good too!
I thought this dosa was a good example of that.It is made from rice and urad flour (so no need to blend soaked rice and dal like in traditional dosas), has spinach for the 'health boost', the green color appeals kids, and it tastes good too!
Ingredients:
Spinach Dosas:
2 cups Spinach washed and pureed
1 and 1/2 cup Rice flour
1 cup Urad flour
1/2 cup Sooji/Rava
1/4th cup Yogurt
salt
oil

1) Mix all the above together and add water to make a smooth batter.Let it soak for 30-40 mins.
2) On a non stick pan, apply oil . Add about 1/2 cup batter and spread to make a round.

3) Once golden brown on one side, carefully flip on the other side and let it cook for another minute or so.

4) Serve with Peanut Chutney or Walnut Chutney/ Potato Bhaji/Sambar

Walnut Chutney :
http://my-kitchens-aroma.blogspot.com/2010/05/for-little-tummies-sandwiches-with.html

Peanut Chutney:

1/2 cup Roasted shelled peanuts
1 green chili
1 clove garlic
1/2tsp ginger paste
1/2tsp cumin seeds
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salt
sugar
Blend everything together in a mixer with little water to get a smooth consistency.

Potato Bhaji:

3 medium boiled potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 onion sliced
1tsp ginger garlic paste
few curry leaves
1 green chili sliced
1/2tsp mustard seeds
1/2tsp cumin seeds
1tsp Turmeric
salt
oil
1) Heat about 2tbsp oil.When it os hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin, onions,curry leaves, ginger garlic paste, chilies.Fry for 3-4 mins.
Add turmeric powder.
2) Add the chopped boiled potatoes, salt and mix.
3) Fry for a 2 mins and take off the flame.