Tri-root Halwa

         I like my mother's sweet preparations specially,the halwa versions..She grows the pumpkin creeper in back yards..The creeper spreads like crazy all over the place,covers the walls , little plants and just finally in a week time,it enters the home too..Then i or someone has to tell her,it has to be cropped ,before she gets covered.... :) Nothing as such,whenever the creepers are removed,we get huge number of pumpkins..Then she cultivates again in the same soil after a few months of break...Recently,she brought dum root halwa to my home which reminds me of this version...Though,we cannot call it dum root,but it is definitely quick and easy version of halwa...Sure,its taste too good..

Tri-root Halwa Recipe Ingredients Carrot,grated-1 cup Beetroot,grated-1 cup Turnip,grated-1 cup Sugar-1 1/2 cup Unsweetened Khoya-1/2 cup(optional) Ghee/Oil-50 ml Milk-100 ml Cucumber seeds-1 tbsp Cashews-a few Method 1.Place the kadai ,add the oil ,add the cashews and cucumber seeds ,sauté until it turns crispy 2.Sprinkle the grated vegetable and sauté it well for 5-6 minutes 3.Once,the raw smell has gone,add the milk and let it cook for sometime 4.Add the khoya and sugar,Stir continuously 5.Once,the sugar melted ,all mixed well...let it cook for 5 minutes...and remove when it gets unsticky consistency...At this stage,some ghee gets released from halwa...So,its ready to serve hot :) Notes *Use equal measures of vegetables,and use 1:1 1/2 ratio of sugar.So,none of the three vegetables can over rule in the taste.

Cappuccino

I cannot begin a day without a sip of my coffee...I do love coffee a lot like every south indian....Guess,How many hours we have spent in Coffee day with this?..As no one is bothered about a gang of ladies,when lot of stories and gossips to talk,in between some brownies and cappuccinos to pamper the spirits :) Would u loved those days??..But I dont think CCD is still good,it is over crowded and so noisy(sounds more like some bhavan hotels ,huh..)..Cappuccino is a form of italian coffee..A Rich Creamy Froth holds the warmth for long time,which is the best thing of cappuccino.. this is my own recipe...it was years back when no milk was on stock,we had friends came home at oddly hours..My husband insisted to open amul fresh cream tetra pack and add some water to make some coffee..When i boiled, it turned to be a cappuccino....Later ,i  did some experiments by adding water/milk to it,whenever i need some proud  creamy mustache  :-) ..So,finally here is the recipe of homemade cappuccino from me....

    Ingredients

Amul Fresh Cream,small pack-1

Fresh Milk-1/2 cup

Sugar-2-3 tsps

Bru/Instant coffee-1 tsp

Drinking Chocolate-to dust

Method

1.Chill the fresh cream in the pack and bring it to boil with 1/4 cup of milk

Add sugar in a cup,followed b some coffee powder

Add remaining 1/4 cup of milk and mix it with rest of the milk

Pour the coffee in serving cup and dust some drinking chocolate..

the recipe can yield two full cups of cappuccino

Enjoy!

Espresso Cookies

Its raining like cats and dogs here and so much windy and thundering that reminds me i need something to munch...How about hot chocolate and some cookies to dip??..I think i have many nan khatais/butter cookies recipes in my blog,but not because i need to post,i made these.I tried these cookies a year ago,and they were so easy to make ,too good to have!...With very less ingredients,you will wonder you get 2 dozens of cookies to stock up...It tastes like much better than those "Hide and Seek" biscuits...If you dont agree,u should try this recipe..

I have used Nescafe instant coffee powder,it works fine with any brand

Ingredients

All purpose flour/Maida-2 cups

Sugar-2/3 cups

Coffee dissolved in water-1 to 2 tbsps

Butter-1 cup

Vanilla Essence-1 tsp

Chocolate chips/chopped-1/2 cup or more

Method

Cream butter and sugar

Add the coffee and mix them well

Add the flour ,make it crumble and then make into soft dough...Use fingers and dont over knead it

Remove the dough and add chocolate chips or chocolate pieces and mix

Once done,cover with cling wrap or move it to air tight container and keep it in fridge for 1-2 hours

Roll it into 1 inch thickness of small round shapes and bake in pre heated oven for 20 minutes at 175*C

Sometimes,it bakes sooner,so check at 15 minutes,if the sides are brown enough,then its time to remove from oven...

Its done!

I have made with and without chocolates ,only one dark chocolate square at the center and thin crispy(crusty) squared cookies..

Lemon Ginger tea

this is the infusion of lemon juice and ginger root rather than a true tea...the warm and pleasant cup of this tea gives a relaxing mood and pamper ur senses....When i tasted this tea for the first time,it was simply out of the world...i guess it served in many spas and yoga centers...

Ingredients

Lemon juice-1 tbsp

Fresh Ginger,grated-half inch

Honey-1 tsp

Method
Boil a cup of water ,add the lemon juice and chopped ginger.Close with the lid and rest it for 10 minutes

2.Strain the tea.Warm it and then add honey at end.
Stir and Serve hot

 Here comes BM,I chosed coffee/tea theme..So,I have two more posts for weekends.

Tuscana's Gluten-free pizza and Sandy's OMG

Finally,It was a week away from blogging..The last weekend was a memorable one..The memorable weekend was super fun,we went for long drive and did some shopping for organic products.Later,friday evening i went go Tuscana at KNK road for CFG's showcase..On Saturday,a gang of us went to try sandy's OMG...Here is the update back to back,before i hop into BM recipes tomorrow...

Nearly 25 people gathered for the review from CFG in Tuscana(KNK road)which is the first restaurant to introduce gluten free food in chennai,I guess we all know about gluten..If not,here is the quick update

"Gluten is a protein composed in flour to give flexibility and texture to the food"....Its not harmful to us,but the gluten is allergic to some people (10% of the world population) and should be avoided by celiac disease sufferers

As soon as i went ,i got a paper which describes about the gluten-free pizzas and the pastas...I didnt check about the ingredients and went first to check how it tastes...which always matters to me :)

Its a veg cheese pizza made with gluten-free ingredients....The base was little hard and the topping was the usual version from tuscana...So,the taste was very familar since its made with local ingredients...

The pizza base is made with millet flour,potato starch and tapioca and no yeast!..They served alfredo pasta made with rice flour...Gluten-free pasta was so soft,shiny and delicious..I couldnt skip with one more serving and it has really worked...

Lets move on to Sandy's,I am sure ,u will say OMG soon like i did :)
On last saturday,I went for an long drive to a farm house much away from the city..Around five,we started back to reach the city,as i promised a few to visit Sandy's in Wallace garden road ,nugambamkkam.

Sandy is one of the finest,ever rocking cafe which serves "The" best chocolate desserts in chennai...Not sure,why i am not self visiting these places to post a review here B-)

A huge ceramic bowl was placed on the table with the cracker...We all stood up ,scattered and gave some attention to the dessert...

OMG is a huge portion of dessert served by one,but i guess it cannot eaten by one..Of course,u will love to share this bowl with many...The bowl had many layers
 (from top)
200gms of whipped cream,
600 ml of Chocolate and vanilla icecreams,
3 Cookies,
100 gms of Chocolate Cake,
2 Brownies and
300 ml of Three differents Sauce(Caramel,Milk and Dark Chocolate) piped from top to bottom 

So,what else you want? :-P

Within ten minutes,almost we finished the bowl,I loved the brownies and the icecream sticking on the bottom...I took the pledge to clear the bowl without a dot.. :-P

Finally,Sandesh reddy,man behind the Sandy's arrived..He was as cool like his desserts..He complimented some cupcakes for us..We started asking him how he found this OMG and how many of them ate this...and also about the single serving experiences ;-)...Sandesh shared us the whole progress of Sandy's and also we made a visit to his kitchen and official areas...It was indeed an exciting evening for me to try OMG 

OMG costs Rs.1100/- ,it was such an amazing dessert..We were around 6-7 people for the game...

Dark Chocolate and Almond Cake/Reine de Saba

Julia child ,one of the most celebrated cook/baker in the world...this is the tribute post for the incredible woman..I made one of her best recipes,Reine de Saba means Queen of seba ,it carries a long history,but u can call it "Dark Chocolate and Almond Cake"...JC's most  favourite french cake and mine too ...It has the richness of dark chocolate and almonds with dense,moist texture...Do try this recipe and enjoy.Or ping me,i can make it for u...

Dark Chocolate and Almond Cake Ingredients 3 ounces dark chocolate,  2 tablespoons strong coffee 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3 egg yolks 3 egg whites 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1 pinch salt 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 1/3 cup blanched almond (pulverized in blender or food processor with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar) 1/4 teaspoon almond extract 1/2 cup cake flour Method 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set the oven rack in lower middle level.  2 In a saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate in the rum or coffee. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, cut butter into.  3 pieces and cream it. When soft and fluffy, add sugar and beat 1 minute. Beat in egg yolks until well blended. 4 In another bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Beat in cream of tartar and salt and continue beating until soft peaks are formed. Gradually beat in 2 tablespoons sugar and continue beating until stiff, shiny peaks are formed. Blend melted chocolate and coffee or rum into yolk mixture, then add almonds and almond extract.  5 Stir a quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate using a rubber spatula. Scoop the rest of the whites over chocolate and, alternating with sprinkles of flour, rapidly and delicately fold in the egg whites. Turn batter into buttered and floured 8-by-1 1/2-inch round cake pan, tilting it in all directions up to the rim all around. Set in preheated oven. Bake 25 minutes. 6  Cake is done when puffed to the top and a toothpick inserted 2 to 3 inches from edge comes out clean. The center should move slightly when the pan is gently shaken. Remove pan to a rack and let cool 15 minutes. Unmold onto rack. Let cool 2 hours before storing or icing.

Cheese n Veg Foot Long Bread

Ingredients

Foot long Bread-1

Onion,sliced-1

Butter-half tsp

Sweet corn-half cup

Capsicum,sliced-1

Cheese-1 cube

Mayonnaise-1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Pepper a pinch

Method

1.Cut the bread into half and scoop out the center 
2.Saute onion,capsicum and corn,it should not be overcooked
3.Let it to cool,add a tsp of mayonnaise,bread crumbs and mix

4.Fill the bun with it and top it with grated cheese
5.Microwave it for 1-2 minutes until all the cheese gets melted

Neer Kozhukattai

Ingredients

Rice flour-1 cup

Water-1+half cup

Coconut milk-1/2 cup

Green chilli-1-2 nos

Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

Curry leaves a few

Oil-1 tsp

Salt to taste

Method

Boil the water piping hot...sprinkle salt and the flour slowly

Stir with the wooden laddle 

Make a dough and rest it to cool

Make it fine balls ,if needed apply oil on hands to knead evenly

Add some water in same vessel,boil it and then add the balls..Cook it for 7-10 minutes in medium flame

For seasoning ,heat the pan ,sprinkle mustard seeds,greenchilli and curry leaves

Add the half cup of coconut milk ,let it cook for 2 more minutes

Season the kozhukattai and Serve hot!

Hot Pot Macaroni

Hot Pot Macaroni Ingredients Macaroni-150 gms Onion,big,chopped-1 Tomato,chopped-3 Capsicum,cubed-1 Garlic cloves,chopped-4-5 Maggi Tomato Sauce-1/4 cup Light Soya sauce-1 tsp Mint leaves-half cup Grated Cheese-half cup Pepper powder to taste Salt to taste Method 1.Cook the macaroni in hot water and strain the water and run through running cold water 2.Heat a pan,add the oil and onion and sauté for a minute 3.Add Garlic,Tomato until all turns well cooked 4.Add the capsicum ,cook for a minute 5.Add the tomato sauce and soya sauce,Stir 6.Add the cooked macaroni and stir for a minute 7.Sprinkle the salt and mint leaves 8.Add the grated cheese and fill the macaroni in a hot pot,garnish with cheese and mint leaves.Bake a 3-4 minutes in microwave 9.Carefully remove the hot pot from the microwave and serve.