Paneer Makhani

Before I write the post I have to tell that My Kitchen Treasures is moved from mykitchentreasures.blogspot.com to http://www.mykitchentreasures.com/

Looks like summer as gone from our side of the world. The weather has been really bad in August. I don't remember a year when we had such bad August, it has been dull, rainy and windy.

We live just less than 10 minutes walk from the beach and can you believe we didn't go for swimming not even a day in August. Ofcourse the water is not warm as in jully so there are still peaople who swims, but I like when it is warm for swimming not that you have to start shivering the moment you come out of the sea.

I know I am always moeaning about the weather here so let me got to the recipe.
As you all know It was Onam on the end of August.
So first time in 19 years I have been here I celebrated Onam.
I invited my In laws, Aunty,BIL and Niecee for a Onam dinner.
It was not a fully traditional Onam dinner, I did few traditional dishes and few creamy dishes and one of the dish was this Delicious Paneer Makhani from DK's place, Chef in you.

I am sure none of you need any introuduction to her place.
few days back in FB Siri was saying she should bring out a cooking book of her own and that she would be like Ree of Indian cuisine. And to that we all fully agree.
She has give special tricks for using shop bought paneer so it is really worth if you go and check out her place.
Everybody who was there for the dinner enjoyed this creamy paneer, actually every thing was finished by the end of the dinner.

Recipe from DK place is here , i am just copying the recipe from her place and pasting it here.
Only ingridient i added extra was a bit of garam masala.

2 generous cups Paneer cubes
1 large onion,chopped coarsely
3 tbsp butter
1/2 – 3/4 cups tomato puree *
2-3 green chillies, as per taste **
3-4 cloves garlic
2 inch ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin-coriander powder
1 tsp Tandoori masala
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup cashew paste and 8-9 raisins ( optional. Use them if making Shahi Paneer – soak few cashew pieces in boiling water and grind)
1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream (as needed for consistency)
salt to taste
Mint and cilantro to garnish

* I find that home made Puree is the best. But if going for store bought ones go for low sodium variety. If that’s not available then use only about 1/2 cup of the puree and carefully add salt only if required. Sometimes the store bought ones give a deep tangy taste to this dish if not careful with the salt since the puree by itself has lots of sodium
** You can instead use cayenne/red chilli powder. Sometimes when I don’t have green chillies on hand I use dried red chillies like in this dish. Doesn’t hurt the taste.
*** I personally find that Mint goes very well with rich dishes and gives it that fresh taste and reducing the rich after taste in the mouth. A combination of the herbs is my personal favorite where it helps to mellow down the richness
Ofcourse as i wrote about I just added a 1 and a half tsp of garam masala, so if you want you can add it ot keep it like DK's originam recipe.

Baked Alaska Augus 2010 Daring Bakers Challenge

Begning of this Month when I read what the challenge was for this month I was really excited as I have never made baked Alaska.
But then days passed by and then we had few parties at home and was always busy etc....that I almost went to the forumn to tell them that I am not joining this month.
But then the last minute I changed, and boy am I so glad I did it.
As when I served this for hubby and daughter this yesterday, they were full of praise, hubby even told for the next party I should make this for dessert.
Ofcourse having a blow Torch is really handy to make this dessert.

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted byElissa of 17 and Baking . For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz " The Perfect Scoop "

Vanilla Ice Cream
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
A pinch of salt
3/4 cup (165g) sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise OR
2 teaspoons (10ml) pure vanilla extract
2 cups (500ml) heavy (approx 35% butterfat) cream
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan until the liquid steams. Scrape out the seeds of the vanilla bean with a paring knife and add to the milk, along with the bean pod. Cover, remove from heat, and let infuse for an hour. (If you do not have a vanilla bean, simply heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan until the liquid steams, then let cool to room temperature.)
2. Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2 litre) bowl inside a large bowl partially filled with water and ice. Put a strainer on top of the smaller bowl and pour in the cream.
3. In another bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks together. Reheat the milk in the medium saucepan until warmed, and then gradually pour ¼ cup warmed milk into the yolks, constantly whisking to keep the eggs from scrambling. Once the yolks are warmed, scrape the yolk and milk mixture back into the saucepan of warmed milk and cook over low heat. Stir constantly and scrape the bottom with a spatula until the mixture thickens into a custard which thinly coats the back of the spatula.
4. Strain the custard into the heavy cream and stir the mixture until cooled. Add the vanilla extract (1 teaspoon [5ml] if you are using a vanilla bean; 3 teaspoons [15ml] if you are not using a vanilla bean) and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, preferably overnight.
5. Remove the vanilla bean and freeze in an ice cream maker. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can make it without a machine. See instructions from David Lebovitz:

Brown Butter Pound Cake
19 tablespoons (9.5 oz) (275g) unsalted (sweet) butter
2 cups (200g) sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring) (See “Note” section for cake flour substitution)
1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
1/2 cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
1/3 (75g) cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C and put a rack in the center. Butter and flour a 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan.
2. Place the butter in a 10” (25cm) skillet over medium heat. Brown the butter until the milk solids are a dark chocolate brown and the butter smells nutty. (Don’t take your eyes off the butter in case it burns.) Pour into a shallow bowl and chill in the freezer until just congealed, 15-30 minutes.
3. Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Beat the brown butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well, and then the vanilla extract.
5. Stir in the flour mixture at low speed until just combined.
6. Scrape the batter into the greased and floured 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula and rap the pan on the counter. Bake until golden brown on top and when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
7. Cool in the pan 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edge and invert right-side-up onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Meringue (For the Baked Alaska)
8 large egg whites
½ teaspoon (3g) cream of tartar
½ teaspoon (3g) salt
1 cup (220g) sugar
Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt on high speed in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in the sugar gradually in a slow stream until stiff peaks form.

Assembly Instructions – Baked Alaska
1. Line four 4” (10cm) diameter tea cups with plastic wrap, so that plastic wrap covers all the sides and hangs over the edge. Fill to the top with ice cream. Cover the top with the overhanging plastic wrap and freeze for several hours, or until solid

2. Level the top of the brown butter pound cake with a serrated knife or with a cake leveler. Cut out four 4” (10cm) diameter circles from the cake. Discard the scraps or use for another purpose.
3. Make the meringue (see above.)
4. Unwrap the ice cream “cups” and invert on top of a cake round. Trim any extra cake if necessary.
5. Pipe the meringue over the ice cream and cake, or smooth it over with a spatula, so that none of the ice cream or cake is exposed. Freeze for one hour or up to a day.
6. Burn the tips of the meringue with a cooking blow torch. Or, bake the meringue-topped Baked Alaskas on a rimmed baking sheet in a 500°F/260°C oven for 5 minutes until lightly golden. Serve immediately.

Grilled Chicken Wings

Today I am going to jump into the recipe as I have nothing to right, I have been sitting here and thinking what i should write but nothing pops up, I guess I should blame FB for it, when ever something happens I just write there.
So here goes the recipe for this delicous Chicken wings.
Actually I don't have a exact measurement to what I add.

15 Chicken wings ( I remove the skin as my family don't like the skin)
3 garlic chopped finley

One piece of ginger finley cut
Few tbsp of soy sauce

1 tbsp kejap '(Indonesian sauce)

2 tbsp of tomato chilli sauce

2 tbsp of honey

few fresh chilies ( optional)

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

few tbsp oil

Mix all the above ingridients in a bowl and marintate for few hours or do the night before.
Preaheat the oven to 200°c and arrange the chicken wings and cook them for 25 to 30 minutes.
I like it well done and a bit balck aroung.
Sereve with lots of beer :-)

Fresh Apricot Cake- Aprikosenkuchen

For almost 7 weeks I didn't bake anything. That is not totally true , I baked for last months Daring Bakers. But other than that, I have not been baking.
I have been using my oven, but then to drill meat etc but not for baking.
Not that I didn't want to bake, it is just that it is summer here and one is so busy doing out door activities than staying inside the home for baking.

Few days back when we went to the local market we bought these delicous apricots and we had lots, so I thought why not make a cake with some of them.
So searched the net and saw this yummy cake here.

I used a Tart tin, so i didn't had to use so much apricot as in the recipe.

Makes 12 servings of Aprikosenkuchen.

Ingredients:
10 T. butter, softened
2/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract or 1 T. vanilla sugar
3 eggs
Zest from 1/2 lemon
2 c. flour
2 tsp. double acting baking powder, or 1 package German Backpulver ( I used normal baking powder)
1/4 c. buttermilk or sour milk
1 1/2 lb. apricots, cut in half, about 14 ( used less numbers)

Preparation:
Use an 11 inch springform pan if you have one, otherwise you could try a 9x9 or 9 x 13 inch baking pan, but the baking times will be different. Butter and flour it. Set aside.
Cream the butter with the sugar and vanilla or vanilla sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in lemon zest.
Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt. Beat into the egg mixture. Add the buttermilk and mix well.
Spread the batter into the baking pan. Place the apricots on top, cut side down. I like to use a circular pattern, starting in the middle with a single half.
Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes.
Serve with sweetened whipped cream. 5 i didn't instead of tha ti glazed the top of the cake.

A soup, Rome holiday and the baking loot from Sis

Thankyou for all the Birthday wishes you send to my daughter's 18th b'day in my earlier post.
We had a wonderful time in Rome Celebrating her b'day.
For the week we were there, we have been fully busy, we left our hotel after breakfast and was only back by midnight as we wanted to see as much as possible in these days.
And every evening we three had a relaxing dinner in one of the pleanty cozy places they have there with good food and wine.


Just sharing couple of pictures with you all.

Remember me telling you all hubby is gone to US last month for 10 days. He went to my sister's place and this I really have to share with you all, especially my baking friends, the goddies I got from my sis. Hubby went with one suitcase and he came back with 2 suitcase.
Sis had send me so much things from there :-)


I think I have muffin cups for atleast 5 years :-)

One of the sweetest presenthubby have ever give me :-)

Now to the soup. I have posted this soup earlier, but as I have not been cooking or baking anything special I thought I will post thie Asperagus soup again as it was the season here and I made them again.
If you ant to check out the recipe hopp over to this post.

Baking goodies etc.... which I got from Sis.