Fairy Cakes

Cupcakes are also called fairy cakes.
They are beautiful to see.
Kids love it for their birthday parties.. And with the coloured frosting you can make it as colourful as you want.

120 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
130 grams granulated white sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vannila extract
Zest of 1 large lime (optional)
210 grams all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
60 ml milk
Buttercream Frosting:
230 grams confectioners sugar sifted
120 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vannila extract
2 tablespoons milk or light cream
Assorted food colors (if desired)

Preheat oven to 180° C and lightly butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter and egg mixture, along with the milk, and beat until combined.
Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until nicely browned .
When the cake is cook frost it.
For the Frosting:
cream the butter until smooth and well blended. Add the vanilla extract.
Beat in the sugar.
Add the milk and beat until frosting is light and fluffy .
Add a little more milk or sugar, if needed.
Tint the frosting with desired food color

Puri and Rajma

I have not made puri for atleast two years.
Apparently last week there was a puri making week in the blog world, which I totally missed ( as a new blogger i am just getting used to all these events).
And every time i visited a blog there it was PURI you coudn't miss it. And watching all these puris, mostly with potato curry i decided even though the week have passed i would make it today for lunch.
You know i've been drooling in all the blogs ............
Years back well to be specific the firsr year of beeing married i tried to make puri and it never ended up like a balloon so each time i was disapionted. So one day i was telling me my sister that my puri's are alwasy a disaster. So she told me how she makes it and i did and it came out perfect.
So you know when you make puris you are handeling hot oil in the kitchen.

I was trying out my sisters way of making puri and i saw the miracle happening infront of my eye, the puri was becoming like a balloon and i shouted from the kitchen, Hans come fast ( he thinking there was a disaster came fast to the kitchen)

And what he saw was me standing with a big smile saying it is comming like a balloon. And is remark was you gave me a shock, i thought you spîlled oil all over. MEN !!!!!!!

I made puri from Mahanadi ( a idea which i got from Budding Cook)

Ready to make Rajma.

Few of the things


Busy

It is done

Rajma 250gm
Salt 1 tsp
Cummin seeds 1 tsp
2 Onions fineley chopped
Ginger garlic paste 3 tbsp
Curd 1 tbsp
2 tomato chopped
1 tbsp tomato puree
Fenufreek leaves 1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder 1 tsp
Red chillie powder 2 tbsp
Corriander powder 2 to 3 tbsp
Garam Masala powder 1 tbsp
Vegetable oil 3 tbsp
Few tbsp corriander leaves .

Cook the rajma with salt.
Heat the oil and add cummin seed. Then add the onions and the ginger garlic paste, fry them till they are brown.
Add the add all the spices except garam masala and fry them very nice. Add now the tomatoes, the puree and fenugreek leaves and fry everything till it get dark. Add the curd . Now fry everything till the oil floats.

Add now add the garam masala powder and the cooked rajma. Cook it for few minutes. Add chopped corriander and seve hot.

Spaghetti With Aubergine

This is a recipe for Sharmi. She is the first person who commented on my blog last month when i started and i know she is a vegetarian. So while i was preparing this dish I was thinking of her.

The name of this dish in Italy is Spaghetti alla Bellini.

This famous dish is named after the Sicillian composer Bellini. Somtimes it is also called Spaghetti alla Norma named after his opera called Norma.

Few of the things

Busy cooking

Time to digg in

Ingridients.
2 large aubergine ( egg plant) sliced

500 gm small tomatoes, or good quality canned plum tomatoes drained of juice

5 to 6 table spoo, olive oil

400 spaghetti

4 garlic cloves crushed

1 tbsp crushed dried chillies ( if u want u can add less or more)

large hand full of basil leaves roughly chopped

100 gm ricotta salata cheese finley grated or feta cheese crumbled.

Salt to taste.

If you are using fresh tomatoes squeeze off the juice and roughly cut them and keep it aside.

Heat the oil add the auberfine and fry them till they are golden brown all over.

Keep it aside .

Meanwhile cook the pasta according to the packet.

Now take a pan and add a extra two tablr spoon olive oil and fry the garlic. Add then the chillies and tomatoes and cook in a high heat for few minutes.
Add the aubergine and salt to taste.
Drain the cooked pasta and add to the sauce.
Add the basil leaves and half of the cheese and mix well.
Serve the past with ramaining cheese sprinkled over it.

I also sprinkled extra chillie flakes over it.

Enjoy.

I entered this recipe for Fresh Produce of the Month

Chinese Garlic chicken

The real name of the dish is Sin jieu gai kau which mean peppered garlic chicken.

Most of the work is done

MMMM.........

500 gm chicken breast sut in small cubes

Chicken Marinade.
1 egg

2 tbsp soya sauce

1 tsp corn flour

Mix tgese ingridients together with the chicken and leave it for 30 minutes.

Iol for deep frying

1 big capsicum cut into chunks
4 red chillies chopped

8 to 10 darlice cloves sliced thin

Extra 2 tbsp oil

3 to 4 tbsp of soya sauce

1 tbsp vinegar

2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry

1 tbsp of corn flour mixed with a bit of water

1 to 2 tbsp of sesame oil

2 tbsp chillie oil

Heat the oil in a wok and deep fry the chicken till they are golden brown and keep it aside.
Now clean the wok and add the extra 2 tbsp oil and in a high fire fry the capsicum , garlic and chillies for 1 or 2 minutes.

Now add the chicken and stir fry for few minutes and then add the soya sauce, vinegar, rice wine and then the cornflour. Mix everything good.

Add the sesame oil and chillie oil and stir for few seconds and serve directly.

Tip:
Amount of chillies you can add to your taste.
Don't add salt as soya sauce is very salty.

Flying Kangroo Cocktail

Here is the second cocktail as i promised.

Looking to the picture I am glad that i took the picture of the bottles before i had all of them that day.

Best part of the prepertion. Collecting all the bottles

The end result

30 ml vodka
30 ml white rum
10 ml Galliano
20 ml Coconut syrup
10 ml cream
40 ml pineapple juice
20 ml orange juice

Add the ingridients to a shaker with 4 to 5 ice cubes. Shake them well. Using the sieve pour the drink into a long drink glass with ice cubes. Garnish with few fruits.

Chicken Manchurian

Here is a another recipie which is always a hit with my husband and daughter, both of them enjoys the dish a lot but in between i hear lots of sniffing well not so much sniffing as my guest.............

Now a days i reduce my chillies according to the guests palate, but if i am making it for my family i make it the Indian way which is hot hot hot.................

I think the Chicken Manchurian is a invention of the Chinese restaurants in India. As i have never seen it in any other chinese restaurant...................else than in India.

Most of the things

Hot and Delicious

500 gm Chicken breast cut into cubes
2 tbsp soyasauce
2 tbsp cornflour
Half tsp peper powder
1 egg
Marinate the above ingridients and keep it aside for one hour.

4 to 5 cloves of garlic Chopped
2 tbsp ginger chopped
6 to 10 chillies cjopped fine
2 tbsp celery chopped
1 onion chopped
4 spring onions chopped
2 to 3 tbsp soya sauce
2 to 3 tbsp chillie tomato ketchup
Half chicken broth
2 tbsp corn flour
Oil for deep frying the chicken
Extra 2 tbsp oil

Method:
Deep fry the chicken till they are golden brown. And keep them aside.

Heat the extra oil in a wok and fry all the vegetables till they are soft. Add the fried chicken to it.
Now add the soya sauce, chillie tomato ketchup. Miw well. Now mix the corn flour to the chicken broth and add to the wok, cook for few minutes and seve hot.

My tip
If i have less sauce i add a little more stock or water.
If the sauce is too wattery i add a bit more corn flour to make it thicker.
And if you like a drier manchurian then don't add water.

Blue Hawaiian Cocktail

Yesterday it was cocktail evening in our home .................hey you should know that it is summer time here, even though it was raining ( it has been such a bad summer)we decided to make few cocktails as we had guests. I told my hubby i will make the cocktails?

Ofcourse i choose this one for the pretty colour.................but it was delicious, i've plans to make it again. I made two others, i will add those next time :-))))

Naturally i blame my drinking habbit on my mother in law, she is the one who taught me and my sister in law to enjoy drinks. Not that we are complaining.............as all of us like to have a drink now and then

Bottles are reday

Glasses are dipped in the desicated coconut

mmmmm..............Doesn't it looks yummy

30 ml White rum

20 ml curacao blue

40 ml pineapple juice

20 ml cream of coconut ( coconut cream from a tin)

extra pineapple juice for dipping the glasses

Desicated coconut for rim of the glass

2 piece of fruit for decoration

Dip the rim of the glass in the extra juice and dip it to the desicated coconut.

Now add the rum, pineapple juice, curacao blue, cream of coconut into a mixer with crushed glass and mix it.

Pour the mixture into the prepared glasses and garnish with the fresh fruits.

Recipe is for one glass or one person.

This is going to Monthly Mingle hosted by Meeta at What's for Lunch Honey

Sweet and Sour Chinese Chicken

This is one of the favorite recipe of my daughter (Naturally she picks out all the vegetables and then i am sitting there and telling her just eat the veggizs) to be honest she have lot of favorite dishes, if i am busy in the kitchen and she ask me what am I preparing and then i tell her which dish i am busy with, she tells mmmm that is my favorite dish to which i remark you always tell me that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You can make this dish with chicken or pork. In the book the recipie was for pork but i always do with chicken.

preperations

Chicken is fried

Ready to serve









700 gm chicken breast cut into bitesize pieces
1 tsp sugar
5 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp dry sherry
1 egg yolk
corn flour
oil for deepfrying
1 large onion roughly chopped
5 spring onions sliced
1 red capsicum sliced
200 gm mushrooms slices
2 celery stick sliced
3 tbsp oil extra
250 pineapple in a can
3 tbsp ketchup
60 ml vinegar
1 cup water
3 tbsp cornflour
Method:
Combine sugar, 1 and a half tbsp of soysauce, sherry , egg yolk and the chicken stir well untill all the chicken is coated. Cover and leave one hour.
Drain Meat from the marinade, reserve the liquid.
Heat oil in a wok for deep frying the chicken. Coat the chicken with corn flour ( i put the chicken in a plastice bag together with the corn flour and five a shake). Now fry the meat till golden brown. I do this in several batches not to over fill the wok.
Now heat 3 tbsp oil in a another wok or pan, add all the vegetables, saute them for 5 minutes.
Drain pineapple and keep it aside. Now add to the fried chicken stir then add the ketchup, rest of the soya sauce, vinegar, water, marinade liquid , pineapple juice. Cook fro 2 minutes. Now add the sliced pineapple. In the mean time make a paste with the cornflour adding a bit of water and then add it to the wok and cook for few minutes till the dishes has thickened.
Serve with rice or noodles.
My tip. If i think the sauce is too thick i just add a bit of water to the dish. Or if it is too watery i add mor corn flour to make it thick.

Chicken wings

These you can serve as starters or they taste excelent with a glass of wine or beer.

And i do make them a lot as they are so easy to prepare. And it is alwats a hit with the guest.

Marination
Ready to serve

20 Chicken wings ( I usually remove the skin from the wings)

1 tbsp grated ginger

2 cloves garlic chopped

2 tbsp sweet ketjap

2 tsp of corn flour

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp rice wine or dry sherry

2 chillies choped

3 tbsp oil

1 to 2 tbsp of soya sauce

1 whole star anis

4 to 5 tbsp of water

Marinate the chicken wings with ginger , garlic,ketjap, corn flour, sesame oil, rice wine and chillies and keep in a cool place atleast foe a hour.

Heat iol in a wok and fry the chicken wings till all sides are brown.

Add the soya sauce, water and the star anis.

Cover the wok and cook them in a sofe fire for 10 to 15 minutes. Now and then you should give it a stir, otherwise it might get burned.

Normally for making my life easy before a party, i make them the day before and when the guest are there i just put it under the grill for few minutes.

Gow Gees

I don't know What the name mean but they were delicious. Ofcourse in the hurry i forgot to take the picture of the fried Gow gees. There was no left over and i had made some 35 of gow gees. And were were with nine. One person who didn't like it was my daughter. She said there are mushroom in it and doesn't like mushrooms ( she have a whole list of vergetables she don't eat). When i make minestrone soup she eats the whole bowl of soup and I remark to here there was vegetable in it whe she don't lik and her remark to me will be it is not same in the soup.

Mixture

Just before frying

35 wonton wrappers

250 gm minced pork

125 gm prawns

50 gm dried mushroom

125 gm can bamboo shoots chopped fine

2 spring onions chopped fine

1 tbsp grated ginger

2 cloves garlic chopped

2 tsp seasame oil

2 tbsp soya sauce

1 tbsp rice wine or dry sherry

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Cover mushrooms with boiling water, leave it for 30 minutes, drain, chop mushrooms finely.

Combine mushrooms with minced pork, finely chopped prawns, spring onions, bamboo, ginger, garlic, seasame oil, soya sauce and rice wine. Mix well.

Place small amount of mixture into centre of each circle.
Brush edges of wrappers with water, fold in half, pinch edges together firmly.

Now heat the oil in a wok or deep pan, don't over heat the oil or the gow gees will brown before the inside is cooked.
Drop gow gees into deep hot oil, fry untill golden brown. Remove drain on kitchen paper.

Serve hot woth sweet and sour sauce.

Chinese Dinner

Yesterday I did a party and i decided for a chinese theme. So all the food I served was chinese except for the wine. Everybody enjoyed the dishes. I even made Chicken Manchurian. (I have only seen chicken manchurian served in Indian restaurants in India) Obviously i reduced the chillies according to my guests palate

All four dishes

Pasta with pesto sauce

Pesto from a ready made pot is very handy . But if you make it yourself, you will never buy it from a shop. This is a big hit with my husband and daughter..................when my daughter is eating the dish i hear lots of mmmm.....delicious......




Pine seeds, Basil etc...





Mixture

50 gm fresh Basil leaves

2 to 4 garlic cloves

4 tbsp pine seeds roasted

150 ml olive oil

Salt and peper to taste

50 gm fresh pecorino or parmesan cheese grated

400 gm pasta

Extra cheese for sprikling over the dish

Method:

Add the first 4 ingridients into your mixer anf grind them into a paste. Then add the olive oil gradually. Remove the paste to a glass bowl and the cheese and mix well.
Cook the pasta according to the pack. Drain them and put the pasta back into the same pan and then add the pesto to the pasta and mix well.

Serve them directly.
I usually roast extra 1 tbsp of pine seeds and chop them roughly and sprinkle over the pasta.

I added this post for presto past night Once Upon A Feast

Mussels in White wine

Mussels,vegetables and the wine

Busy in the pot
mmmm............Mussels and Friets (French Fries)













Here is the recipe..................ofcourse i think everybody have their own ways of preparing the mussels. Mine i learned it from my mother in law.
2kg of mussels washed and cleaned
2 large onions chopped
2 celery stalk chopped
I uesd half a bottle of white wine
A small bunch of parsley
Pepper to your taste
Method
Heat a heavy-bottomed pot, add onion and celery and white wine peper and the mussels. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover the pan, and cook shaking, every minute or so to help the mussels cook evenly. When all of the mussels are open. Serve immediately.
You can serve with friets or with bread.

Scampi's with onion and garlic

Well I make this dish a lot of time as they are so delicious. I was busy adding the pictures in my blog and hubby was passing and he told if he sees the pictures he feels like grabbing a scampi and eating......................

Busy preparing
mmmm
Served it with Matheus wine


Does't it look yummy ?????







500 gm scampis
150 ml olive oil
50 gm butter
3 large onion chopped
4 to 5 garlic cloves finley chopped
1/4 cup parsley chopped
Pepper abd salt to taste
Lime halves to serve

Heat the wok or pan and add the olive oil abd butter. Then add the onion and fry them till they are light golden colour then add the garlic, fry for few minuted , then add the scampi's and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or untill they are cooked. Now add the pepper and salt and the parsley.
Serve with feshly squeezed lime and lots of french bread to dip all the butter sauce.

Blueberry Lime Drizzle Cake

Cake is ready to go in the oven

Baking in the oven
Just out from the Oven and the syrup is poured

Ready to serve
If i may say myself it does look good and it was delicious.........

Here is the recipe.
225gm Softened butter

225 gm Golden caster sugar

4 eggs

250 gm self raising flour sifted with a pinch of salt

Grated zest and juice of 2 lime

40 gm ground almond

300 gm blueberries

For the syrup

8 tbsp of lime juice

grated zest of one lime

150 gm golden caster sugar

Method:
1. Preaheat the oven to 180°c. Line the base and side of a 23 inch round cake tin and butter the paper.

2. Ceam the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Gradually beat in the egg one by one and add a bit of flour if the mixture gets curdled. Beat in the lime zest and add the ground almond and the flour. Now flod in the lime juice, giving it a good dropping consistency. Fold in three quaters of the blueberriesand pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin. Bake for about one hour or till it is firm.

3. Now gentley heat the sugar, lime juice and the zest in a saucepan.

While the cake is hot, prick it all over with a skewer and spoon the syrup over it.

You can serve the cake with a dollop of whipped cream.

Tandoori Chicken

Ingridients



Everything mixed together in a bowl

Marinade for Chicken tandoori or tikka (700 gm chicken)

150 gm youghurt
3 tbsp oil

2tbsp fresh leamon juice
1 tbsp garlic paste

1tbsp ginger paste

4 to 5 green chillies choped

1 tbsp mint

a small bunch of corriander leaves chopped

1 tsp cumin powder

3 tabp tandoori masala powder

1 tsp salt.
Mix all the ingridients together with the chicken pieces and keep it covered in the fridge overnight.

Preheat the oven and grill the chicken pieces till it is done. You can brush with a bit of butter when the chicken is half done.
Serve with freshly sliced onions and lemon wedges.