Edible Containers n Maple Mousse make me Curiouser and Curiouser! 1 year of being a Daring Baker

The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at http://thedaringkitchen.com

It's been a year that I've been a part of this fabulous group of bakers... Curiouser is what I get on the 1st of every month when the challenge is unveiled by the Host/Hostess and Curiouser! on the 27th when everyone revealed their creations on their blogs.
I was introduced to this group by Deeba whose creations every month had me in awe... and encouraged by the really quick n accurate responses of Audax....

I knew my 1 year Daring Baker Anniversary would have lots of celebrations and had to have an element of magic, wonder and fun just like my 1 year as a daring baker....
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is one of my fav books as a kid... It's got everything magic, funny characters, different locales, wit, humour, crazy conversations... My favourite character from this book is the Cheshire Cat, the Caterpillar on a mushroom, the queen of hearts saying "Off with their head", the gardeners painting white roses, the pack of cards as soldiers and the MAD Tea Party. When I read this month's Daring Baker Challenge of creating Edible Containers filled with Maple Mousse.... I was inspired to have a Mad Tea Party.....

Alice becomes a guest at a "mad" tea party along with the March Hare, the Hatter, and a sleeping Dormouse who remains asleep for most of the chapter. The other characters give Alice many riddles and stories, including the famous 'Why is a raven like a writing desk?'. The Hatter reveals that they have tea all day because time has punished him by eternally standing still at 6 pm (tea time). Alice becomes insulted and tired of being bombarded with riddles and she leaves claiming that it was the stupidest tea party that she had ever been to.

There was a table set out under a tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it: a Dormouse was sitting between them, fast asleep, and the other two were using it as a cushion, resting their elbows on it, and the talking over its head. `Very uncomfortable for the Dormouse,' thought Alice; `only, as it's asleep, I suppose it doesn't mind.'

The table was a large one, but the three were all crowded together at one corner of it: `No room! No room!' they cried out when they saw Alice coming. `There's PLENTY of room!' said Alice indignantly, and she sat down in a large arm-chair at one end of the table.

`Have some wine,' the March Hare said in an encouraging tone.

Alice looked all round the table, but there was nothing on it but tea. `I don't see any wine,' she remarked.

`There isn't any,' said the March Hare.

`You might just as well say,' added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, `that "I breathe when I sleep" is the same thing as "I sleep when I breathe"!'

A bright idea came into Alice's head. `Is that the reason so many tea-things are put out here?' she asked.

`Yes, that's it,' said the Hatter with a sigh: `it's always tea-time, and we've no time to wash the things between whiles.'

This piece of rudeness was more than Alice could bear: she got up in great disgust, and walked off; the Dormouse fell asleep instantly, and neither of the others took the least notice of her going, though she looked back once or twice, half hoping that they would call after her: the last time she saw them, they were trying to put the Dormouse into the teapot.

`At any rate I'll never go THERE again!' said Alice as she picked her way through the wood. `It's the stupidest tea-party I ever was at in all my life!'
Just as she said this, she noticed that one of the trees had a door leading right into it. `That's very curious!' she thought. `But everything's curious today. I think I may as well go in at once.' And in she went.

The challenges put forth by this dynamic group have been a daunting task yet by the time I'm done... I've learnt a new technique, tried working with a new ingredient, the kitchen looks hit by a tornado, new props explored for pictures, made new friends and had loads of happy people arround me after eating the creations done for the Daring Baker Challenge. Most of my friends now look forward to the monthly challenge to get a bite of the yummy creations....

Some of mt Daring baker creations are Citrus Panna Cotta with Fruit Compote for Daring Baker Challenge ~ My Fruit Basket, Pasta Frolla Crostatas, Doughnuts for Halloween, Decorated Sugar Cookies - Kids All The Way, Brown Butter Pound Cake n Vanilla Icecream Petit Fours, Swiss Swirl Icecream Cake, Chocolate Pavlovas n Mango Mascarpone Mousse, Croquembouche and my very first one was Steamed Chocolate Pudding & Steamed Apple n Caramel Pudding. Each of these has been like the Queen saying to me "imagine six impossible things before breakfast".....

That's Leena aunty(my aunt's friend) who I had met as kid and had a blast at her farm in Hyderabad but became really thick during my cousin's wedding. She's an extremely warm person with a zillion watt smile which can handle even the most tense situations with ease. We were quite a giggly riot together despite being universally inverse when it comes to settling up stuff.... I'd be all over the place and she's happily be settling things up... Yupp... She's a Super Settler... just like my mom... :) Isn't she really pretty... Shared this Daring Baker challenge with her....

Meringues

Ingredients:

3 large egg whites at room temperature

¾ cup (165 g./5.5 oz) sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F/150 degrees C.

2. Put the egg whites in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer beat for a few minutes until the whites become stiff. Now add the sugar, a little at a time, whisking until the mixture is stiff and glossy. You should be able to turn the bowl upside down and the mixture won’t fall out.

3. Place baking parchment on to a clean baking sheet. Using a spoon or a piping bag, dollop the meringue into circles that fit inside the rim of your edible cups. (See mine, I used metallic cookie cutters for shape, if you can pipe well, you can do this free form)

4. Put the tray in the oven, then immediately turn the oven down to 250 degrees F/130 degrees C. and bake for 45 minutes.

5. Turn off the oven and allow the meringues to cool in the oven for a few hours.

6. Place meringues as decoration on your maple mousse which has already be spooned into your edible container.

Edible Containers

Spring Container

Collect the blossoms which you would like to use in your cup. You could use any of these edible flowers like Artichoke (flower bud), Chamomile (for tea), Chives (flowers or buds), Chrysanthemum (flower),Citrus blossoms (lemon, orange, lime, grapefruit), CloverDaisies (Bellis perennis quills),Dandelions(Taraxacum officinale leaves, roots, flowers, petals, buds),Daylilies (Hemerocallis buds, flowers, petals),Elderflower (blossoms for drink), HibiscusHoneysuckleJasmine (for tea), Lilac (salads), Moringa oleifera Nasturtium (blossoms and seeds), Osmanthus fragrans (flower), Pansies (Viola x Wittrockiana flowers, petals), Pot Marigolds (Calendula officinalis petals with white heel removed), Roses(Rosa petals with white heel removed, rose hips), Sesbania grandiflora (flower), Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus buds, petals, seeds), Violet ('leaf and flowers in salads, candied flowers for pastry decoration'),Zucchini blossoms (blossoms).

Stir in bloomed gelatin into water and add the blossoms and set in a bowl with a smaller container making a hollow in the bowl.

Jelly Container

Dissolve jelly/jello as per instructions on the box. (Since it's very warm in Delhi, I added a table spoon full of gelatin to the mix) add the fruits to jewel the jelly and let it set in the refrigerator with a smaller container creating a hollow in the cup for the mousse.

Chocolate Cups

Melt some chocolate in a double boiler till it's smooth. Leave it to cool a bit. Wrap a small bowl in cling film. Dip the cup straight side up to coat the outside of the bowl with melted chocolate. Shake of the excess gently. Invert the cups on a tray lined with butter paper/foil. Put the tray in a cool place till this chocolate layer sets. Give the cups a 2nd coat of chocolate and invert on the tray. Should store well upto 7 days if refrigerated.

Maple Mousse

Ingredients (I used 1/2 this quantity)

1 cup (240 ml/ 8 fluid oz.) pure maple syrup (not maple-flavoured syrup)

4 large egg yolks

1 package (7g/1 tbsp.) unflavoured gelatine

1 1/2 cups (360 ml. g/12 fluid oz) whipping cream (35% fat content)

Directions

1. Bring maple syrup to a boil then remove from heat.

2. In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and pour a little bit of the maple syrup in while whisking (this is to temper your egg yolks so they don’t curdle).

3. Add warmed egg yolks to hot maple syrup until well mixed.

4. Measure 1/4 cup of whipping cream in a bowl and sprinkle it with the gelatine. Let it rest for 5 minutes. Place the bowl in a microwave for 45 seconds (microwave for 10 seconds at a time and check it in between) or place the bowl in a pan of barely simmering water, stir to ensure the gelatine has completely dissolved.

5. Whisk the gelatine/whipping cream mixture into the maple syrup mixture and set aside.

6. Whisk occasionally for approximately an hour or until the mixture has the consistency of an unbeaten raw egg white.

7. Whip the remaining cream. Stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the maple syrup mixture. Fold in the remaining cream and refrigerate for at least an hour.

8. Remove from the fridge and divide equally among your edible containers.

Assembly:

Unmould the edible containers... Chocolate, Jeweled Jelly and Springfield... Pipe the Mousse into them... Mine kept melting due to the heat in Delhi.... Sprinkle with confetti... pair with the meringues...

Party Time at 6pm

A few tips

Key elements which can be used for relating to the book's narrative... Rabbit hole, Golden key, Tiny door, Garden, Bottle marked DRINK ME, Cake marked EAT ME, Little cakes, Mushroom, Mad Hatter's Watch, Door in tree, Rose tree, Croquet ground and equipment, Letter and Pack of cards amongst many other things

You can go dressed up as any of the diverse characters like Alice, White Rabbit, Caterpillar, Duchess, Cheshire Cat, March Hare, Mad Hatter, Queen of Hearts, Mock Turtle, Gryphon, Dormouse, Three Gardeners, King of Hearts and Knave of Hearts would have you looking just out of the storybook....

Tea pot shaped invitations and put a tag saying 'Read Me'

Add mis-matched chairs around the table so the kids sit at different heights.

Make a sign that says "This Way, That Way and The Other Way" with large arrows pointing in different directions. Make the arrows swirly

Stuff a big doll into a smaller dollhouse.

Check out some more stuff at funkidspartyideas.com and party-ideas-galore.com

Colourful Healthy Eggy Easter

The glass painting in the picture is done by my sister when we were kids... This is to say... Sister... you're missed.... Come back for your birthday... May's Daring Baker will be for you :) Back to Easter...
Last year for Easter I had made Bunny shaped cookies for the kids and Zesty Orange Chocolate Brownies for the adults. Having breakfast with friends makes the weekend a much nicer weekend..... Making a healthy and colourful breakfast for Easter this time.... Crunchy Muesli and Soft Boiled Eggs coloured with Vegetable Dyes...

Isn't my little peep so sweet :)

Crunchy Muesli

Muesli made with Whole Wheat n Corn Flakes, Honey, Almonds and Raisins are perfect for a healthy easter breakfast. Toss the ingredients with a small spoon of butter(I'd prefer Olive Oil), Salt and some honey. Bake in a tray lined with parchment paper for about 45 minutes, stirring with a spoon a few times to ensure that the Muesli cooks evenly. Let it cool, Store in an air tight jar.

I saw this Video Podcast on Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs by Curbly.com and just had to make these coloured eggs....

Materials

• Free-range eggs

• Alum powder (available at the supermarket in the spice aisle)

• White Vinegar

• Vegetables and spices, see step one

• Cooktop

• Saucepan

• Measuring spoons

• Wooden spoon and slotted spoon

• Vegetable oil, wax, electrical tape, leaves, stickers, etc (optional)

Method:

1). Choose which colors you’d like to dye your eggs.

• For blue, use red cabbage

• For red, try whole beets (not canned), cherries, or cranberries

• For light green, use spinach or fresh green herbs

• For tan, brew some strong coffee, tea, or a handful of cumin seeds

• For yellow, try turmeric (a spice) and yellow onion skins

• For olive green, use red onion skins (the color is produced by a reaction with the vinegar)

• For purple, grape juice or frozen blueberries

2). For each color, fill a saucepan with at least three inches of water. Add in your vegetables or spices. It’ll take a lot…around two cups, packed. (I used 2 table spoons for 1 egg)

3). Bring the water to a boil, and add two teaspoons of alum powder – UNLESS you’re using onion skins, as it creates a funky reaction.

4.) Boil for thirty minutes.

5). Remove the pan from heat and allow it to cool slightly. You don’t want to add the eggs to boiling water, because the shells will likely crack.

6). Return to heat, and stir in two tablespoons of white vinegar. Add the eggs, and bring the mixture back to a full boil. Reduce the heat slightly, and cook for 10-12 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, and let the eggs cool in the dye.

7). Remove the eggs from the dye. If you’re satisfied with the color, then allow them to dry. For deeper, richer colors, strain the liquid, and allow the egg to continue to soak for up to eight hours. (Any longer, and the vinegar will start to disintegrate the shell.) If you plan to eat the eggs, put them into the refrigerator.

Using 1 of the eggs I drew a few flowers on 1 of them with a mini candle(the only form of wax I could find at 2am at night) to see if the wax design works... Well it does... So go ahead experiment with your creativity :)

Anna Hazare's fast gives the nation HOPE ~ Flag Cookies for HOPE

Our societal mindset is reflective in Anna Hazare's fast unto death at Jantar Mantar. Before this fast and media blitz, most of us didn't even know his name or the cause he stood for.
His real name is Kisan Baburao Hazare and His demand was greater public role in the Lokpal Bill (Anti-Corruption Bill) , a law that will establish a Lokpal (ombudsman) that will have the power to deal with corruption in public offices. It's been discussed at various levels for the last 40 odd years.This battle against corruption reached it's peak on 5th april 2011 when this social activist began a fast unto death at Jantar Mantar.[Source: wikipedia]

Had gone to jantar mantar to express my solidarity with his movement.... There were loads of people there carrying out some form of protest... some with candles n flags marching arround shouting slogans... other sat peacefully... There were young and old alike.... anti-corruption is a cause that bought everyone together irrespective of the caste, creed or religion....

Anna has done a lot of work in the field of Uprooting alcoholism, The Watershed Development programme, Milk production, Education, Removal of untouchability, Collective marriages, Gram Sabha, Anti-corruption protests in Maharashtra, Right to Information movement.

Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare called off his five-day-old hunger strike on Saturday morning after receiving a gazette notification from the Centre regarding constitution of a 10-member joint committee, comprising members from the government and civil society, to draft an effective Lok Pal Bill.

This fast and move reminds me of the movie Nayak where a common reporter takes up the challenge of becoming a CM(Shivaji Rao) for 1 day in a lark and removing corruption is the first thing he does... and the movie continues a huge tussle between older politicos, younger n sincere CM; the corrupt n common man. The state goes to elections and unanimously supports this new CM and he has all the political parties running after him... he establishes public complaint boxes and takes serious action on them His life is put thru perilous danger, loses his loved ones yet sticks to his principles. At the end of the movie the city develops under the governance of the new CM and his colleagues. The complaint box, where people were supposed to fill in their complaints and information about various threats anonymously, is shown to be empty, signifying that the reasons to be afraid have been taken care of.... The movie has a ray of hope....

The 73-year-old called off his fast-unto-death campaign on the fifth day with a little girl giving him a glass of lime juice at 10.45 am.

The 10-member Joint Drafting Committee will have five Cabinet members — Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee (chairman), Home Minister P. Chidamabaram, Law Minister Veerappa Moily (convenor), Telecom and HRD Minister Kapil Sibal and Water Resources Minister Salman Khurshid. Apart from Mr. Hazare, civil society will be represented by the former Law Minister, Shanti Bhushan (co-chairperson), the former Supreme Court Judge, Justice N. Santosh Hegde, lawyer Prashant Bhushan and RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal. [Source: http://www.kollytalk.com]

This team will now have to face a lot of flack from people who will try n run down this initiative... I hope India comes out shining....

In my own small way I wanted to contribute... It's these young kids who are the future of India...

Made cookies for them which had our tricolour flag.... These kids still have the innocence and if we give them good values, it's then that we'll be able to continue our nation's growth story...... Which is why education is very important.... real education....

The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think - rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men.
~Bill Beattie

Recipe is the one we used for the September 2010 Daring Bakers Challenge.

A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.
~ Mohandas Gandhi

Where we have happy children... There is hope....

A walk in Nature's lap n a Friend's Company over awesome Breakfast..... Can you ask for more?

Waking up to a rainy morning in spring after a dry n hot spell was just so refreshing...... A friend n I decided to go for a walk in the morning followed by breakfast at one of my favourite places...
Nehru park is an amazing stretch of green near Chanakyapuri. It's a place where a lot of my childhood has been spent..... We use to come here almost every Sunday to play, practice n picnic with family n friends..... Cut back to present:) The blooms here are extremely colourful and vibrant, everyone comes here for different activities.... Walking, Yoga, Jogging, Playing, Practicing sports and loads of other stuff.....


My dadaji(granddad) and aunt also go to the park everyday regularly.... They have their own set of park-friends and dadaji even has a party with eats from Chandni Chowk..... Dadaji was surprised to see my friend n me at the park so early in the morning......

We started walking, I was painfully slow due to my injured foot but the weather, people n fab surrounding n my friend had me going :) A lady was meditating between the tall trees.... Her face looked so calm n serene.... Didn't want to disturb her.... took a long shot from far, between the tall trees... The kids were having a blast, play cricket on simultaneous pitches n enjoying themselves....

The only thing which really irks me all this beauty is the litter..... This mentality just beats me... If we won't litter in our houses, then why litter in public places.....

Moving on we go for breakfast .... So you have till the end of this post to figure out where we went.... Do leave your comments on where you initially thought we went.
Is breakfast complete without Milk n Coffee... nah...

My friend's healthy breakfast......

My spread.... pork Sausages, fried Tomato with cheese, scrambled Eggs, multi-grain Pancakes, with a side of Bacon strips.....The weather and company made up for the lack of alcohol.... They just wouldn't serve before 11am....

So let's finish the suspense n tell you where we had gone unless you've figured out all ready.... Had gone to All American Diner at India habitat Center for Breakfast... n now you also know why we were looking for alcohol... I love the Margarita's they make here... Ok back to breakfast.... We met these gentlemen there enjoying their breakfast...

These pinwheel shaped pink-n-white flowers at the Habitat Centre held my fancy for a bit... Haven't seen them before n didn't even know their name.... A google search later I found that they are called 'The Phlox Peppermint Twist'....

Love this shot at Shanti Path..... need I say more... :)

A morning really well spent....... :)

So did you figure out where we went...... or did the picture reveal it?

Tricolour Pasta for the World Cup Champions ~ INDIA

Winning the world cup 2011 is one of the greatest moments in the sporting history of India..... This team has come together in the real sense and done us all proud...

These are some of the defining moments of the match where lots of runs were saved with magnificent fielding, taken wickets with superb bowling and nailed Lanka's coffin with awesome batting and the thing which saw them sailing thru was the fierce hunger-to-win and the spirit to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat....
The force which united everyone..... GOD of Cricket... Fans Chanting S-A-C-H-I-N... during the match along with pride for the nation.... He wasn't alone in celebrating.... his children, teammates, even Jumbo(Anil kumble, isn't he cute :) ), fans......

Office has it's share of enthusiasm n enthusiasts as well ....

I watched the match on Tv at home(since I'm nursing ruptured ligaments of my foot) with Mom, Dadaji n Bua and was on facebook watching it with my friends and cousins Pushpanjali, Pinakini, Rahul, Payal, Anjli, Shweta, Divya, Diya, Priti, Mehul,Vimoha, Nimi, Radhika, Lubna and many more friends :)

We had totka's from the India-Pakistan semi finals extended for the finals... Facebooking with friends, Focusing with Anjli didi, Divya's coffee, My vodka shots and Dairymilk Chocolate.... Rahul not moving from where he was sitting :), Payal eating chocolate brownie ice-cream :)))))), Vimoha saying "Now im superstitious- changed my profile pic to the same as when we won against Pakistan! koi shak nahi hona chahiye which men in Blue!!!"

Some of my updates:
Sehwag ki mummy se shikayat karo......

Malinga u resemble an ugly version of Raavan!!! Via Mehul Jain

80 from 81 balls...

Distracted: Put on Star Plus for a bit on the comedy serial with Raveena Tandon
My sister, Nivritti Chandra had done Raveena's make up... proud of you girl.... Way to go... :)

My friend say "i think dhoni will make 100
get MoM
and then will give it to gambhir
ravi shastri style"

Dadaji says to Bua... don't say negative things... will put tape on ure mouth.... ROFL.... laughed my guts out.... :)

If we lose by 2 runs... the bookie sms doing the rounds will be proved right... India PLZ WIN...

Ravi Shastri.... U'll burn in hell saying that Malinga will do something special for SL.....
#MURDER # RAVISHASTRI

patake bajne chalu ho gaye hain....
5 from 12
4 from 11
partnership of 48 from 41
patake in delhi outside
finished so well by DHONI... we love u.........6^er......

Dhoni being carried off the field by his team makes....yuvi hugging 10dulkar, dhoni in tears, team hug, bhajji in tears, kiran rao in tears on amir's shoulders

Mohammad Razvi: Nichiketa, Did India win?? Can you put live commentary on facebook so I can re-live the moment. Oh wait, you already did. LOL!!!

Diya Pinto: I followed the match by reading Nachiketa Chandra 's status updates! How 21st century am I??!!

Sharma uncle calling dadaji to congratulate... dadaji says... bahut badiya khele ladke... khushi manao... hali tamasha chal raha hai... :)

Chakde song playing in the stadium

Nice way to shut everyone one up... :) @dhoni...... :)

Koi Ravi Shastri ka khoon kar do... :))))

De diya ghumake... but let's give it to the SL team... They also played very well... 3 cheers for Cricket :))))))

Victory is ours.... The team celebrates along with their Coach and all the support staff, they are all thanked. Excitement is written across everyone in bold letters....

To celebrate... I made a Tricolour farfalle pasta with a Arrabiata sauce, White sauce and Pesto sauce to match our flag colours....
Pesto Sauce

Adapted from Reluctant Gourmet

Ingredients

3 cloves garlic

2 cups fresh basil leaves

3 tablespoons pine nuts

1 dash salt and pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated

Method:

The traditional way of making pesto is with a mortar and pestle. Start by adding basil, garlic, salt, and pine nuts to the mortar and grinding them to a paste. Pound in the cheese. Finally whisk in the oil until you have the desired consistency.

As much as I enjoy trying traditional methods, I usually don't have the time or energy to bruise basil leaves so I reach for my food processor and puree a batch in a matter of minutes. If you don’t have a food processor, you can also use a blender. Here's how I make my pesto sauce.

Add the garlic to the food processor and mince. Next, add the basil leaves, pine nuts, and a dash of salt and pepper to the bowl of the processor. While the processor is running, slowly drizzle in olive oil through the feed tube until all the ingredients are pureed.

You may need to stop the processor at this point and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula to get every mixed together. Now add Parmesan cheese and mix it into the rest of the mixture. If the pesto is too thick, add a tablespoon of water.

Arrabiata Sauce

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of Olive Oil

1 Onion finely diced

8 cloves Garlic, crushed n roughly chooped

2 chopped Tomatoes

1 table spoon Tomato Sauce

1/2 teaspoon Chilli Flakes

2 packets maggi Chicken Stock Cubes

100gms amul Cheese grated or Parmesan

Big handful of Basil shopped roughly

100ml Milk or Cream [i use milk, lesser fat you see]

Salt, Chilli Flakes, Oregano and Pepper to season

1/2 cup sliced Olives

1/2 cup Mushrooms

1/2 cup Baby corn

1 teaspoon Butter

Method:

Saute the mushrooms in 1 teaspoon of butter, salt and pepper. reserve the water in the pan as stock.

Blanch the baby corn.

Rinse olives out of the brine.

Heat the oil and cook the garlic till browned.

Add all the spices to the hot oil to release flavour(chilli flakes, oregano)

Add onions cook till pink/translucent.

Add chicken stock cubes and tomatoes along with the sauce till cooked through

Add milk and bring to a boil.

Add the basil sliced olives, mushrooms and baby corn.

Simmer for 5-7 minutes.

Mushroom Sauce
Shared by Gauri
Ingredients:
2 spoons olive oil
4 Packets Mushrooms
2 Glasses Milk[Luke warm]
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoon of mixed herbs[You may vary as per taste]
Salt to taste

Method:

Put 1 teaspoon olive oil in a pan and cook for about 15 – 20 minutes finely chopped mushrooms, add a pinch of salt it will be done faster, don’t add water since Mushrooms will leave water and will be cooked in the same itself.

Once done keep it aside to cool, and make a fine thick puree of the same without adding water in the Grinder. You can keep a few slices of cooked mushrooms aside to be used like that.

In another Pan, Put 1 teaspoon in the Pan and add 2 teaspoons of the herbs along with lots of finely chopped garlic, sauté for 5 minutes till it is cooked, remember we don’t have to turn it golden brown like we do for North Indian Dishes as we don’t want to loose its essence.

Now its time to add puree of the cooked mushrooms, add finely chopped and cooked mushrooms 1 small portion along with the puree in the Pan.

Let it cook for 5 minutes now add 1-1.5 glass of luke warm Milk in the Pan, add salt to taste and cook for 15 – 20 minutes.

Assembly:

Pasta:

To start with boil water with a pinch of salt and 1 table spoon cooking oil, when it comes to boil, put all the Pasta in it and let it cook for 20 minutes. When it is done, drain the extra water and wash the Pasta in cold Water and keep it aside to be used later.

In a bowl mix the 3 different pasta sauces with 1/3 quantity of the cooked pasta.

Enjoy the celebrations....

Nivritti said "It was bizzare, it was crazy, the patriotism, the madness was just to contagious...everyone shouting their throats dry...."india india"....at 1am the city was choked and everyone was euphoric...saalam to mumbai as well....it was truly amazin...g..people out in their cars, in rickshaws, trucks, on foot..on the carriers of their cars, dickies, bonnets, just ecstatic every where waving the indian flag....clicking pictures and no one felt like a stranger to each other....................................................awesome experience......................."

Vikas Luthra said Don’t know which one of your million posts to respond too...but they are all equally ebullient...:))...I enjoyed reading them all..and it was a great match to watch!....too bad could not be there...Cheers...V.

Amitabh Singh said The 1983 win was much more euphoric......but I guess most of you were not born then.....have fun my little ones..... :-)

Atul uncle's quotes his Top 5 World Cup Stadium experiences
I went for the cricket match yesterday. What a lifetime experience!!
Here are my top 5 takeaways:
1. Queueing up still comes naturally to Mumbaikars. Thousands formed long lines across 9 entrances and waited patiently in the hot sun, to enter the stadium. No pushing, shoving, jostling. (My friend from the North remarked - its so nice, they don't pinch bottoms here :)..)

2. 33,000 fans gave Sri Lankan Captain Jaywardene a standing ovation when he scored his century.

3. Even young kids knew the entire lyrics to A R Rahman's "Vande Mataram" and stood to sing it with pride every time it was played.

4. Courtesy and etiquette among spectators was mind blowing. As they left the stadium, touching to see thousands of fans shaking hands and thanking the CISF, Police, ATS for their impeccable security and hard work.

5. Every single fan booed when Sharad Pawar's name was called out and was shocked to discover that everybody disliked him!


Shalvika Sood said Memories from d finale: An emotional Yuvi sobbing into Bhajji n Sachin.. Sachin crying back....An exuberant Kohli presenting Sachin with d memorabilia wicket n later foisting him on his shoulder....d young ones cheering Kirsten n giving d coach his due.....d ever Mr Cool MSD turning n ducking quietly to wipe his tears b4 joining the team huddle....n then Gauti sealing it with a humble 'ths was for u Sachin'!!!!!

Richa Sharma said Dear Raj Thackery, a Chandigarh lad, a Jharkhand captain and a Delhi boy, with the team won the world cup for us and dedicated it to a Marathi legend. Your regional hatred has failed. Jai ho!

Yuvi... tonight's gonna be a good good night... ;) bartender of the evening... ;)

This is to all the passionate, crazy, emotional, whacky updates that kept all of us going and this is to moments which would live with us forever
That's Right Rajni, Ganjni & Dhoni made it for India in Final in Mumbai....rest done by team....Great moment.... :-)

Can any celebrations be complete without something sweet..... Flag Cookies for everyone....
Recipe is the one we used for the September 2010 Daring Bakers Challenge

Have good good night boys... you deserve it... 3 cheers for Dhoni n his boys....