Mawa Cake and Masala Cookies for Daring Bakers Challenge

Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen was our August 2013 Daring Bakers’ hostess and she challenged us to make some amazing regional Indian desserts. The Mawa Cake, the Bolinhas de Coco cookies and the Masala cookies – beautifully spiced and delicious!

I've been making and eating desserts from all over the world since a year especially french. This challenge has bought me back to my roots (Sounds cliche but totally true) . The challenge wasn't difficult but had various elements which needed some pre-planning. It was well worth the wait.

Mawa Cake is a cake found in Irani cafés in India. Mawa is basically Khoya and my favourite indian mithai is the white barfi made from Khoya. Khoya is made by reducing milk on a medium-low flame till we get a crumbly texture of milk solids. It's this mawa and cardamom which gives this cake it's signature flavor and texture of a pound cake.

Mawa Cake
For the Mawa: 1 litre (4 cups) full fat milk

For the cake:
1/2 cup (1 stick) (120 ml) (4 oz) (115 gm) unsalted Butter (soft at room temperature)
3/4 cup (180 ml) packed crumbled mawa
1-1/4 cups (300 ml) (10 oz) (280 gm) castor sugar
3 large eggs
5 to 6 cardamom pods, powdered, (about 1-1/2 tsp powdered cardamom)
2 cups (500ml) (9 oz) (260 gm) cake flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract (optional)
Cashewnuts (or blanched almonds) to decorate (about 18 to 20)

Method:
1. First make the “Mawa”. Pour the milk into a heavy bottomed saucepan, preferably a non-stick one. Bring the milk to a boil, stirring it on and off, making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
Turn down the heat to medium and keep cooking the milk until reduces to about a quarter of its original volume. This should take about an hour to an hour and a half.

2. The important thing during this process is to watch the milk and stir it frequently to make sure it doesn’t stick to the sides or bottom of the pan and get burnt. The danger of this happening increases as the milk reduces and gets thicker.

3. Once the milk it has reduced to about one fourth, 1/4 quantity, lower the heat to low and let cook for a little while longer. Keep stirring regularly, until the milk solids (mawa) take on a lumpy appearance. There should be no visible liquid left in the pan, but the mawa should be moist and not stick to the sides of the pan.

4. Remove the pan from heat and transfer the mawa to a bowl and let it cool completely. Then cover and refrigerate it for a day or two (not more) till you’re ready to make the cake. It will harden in the fridge so let it come to room temperature before using it. You should get about 3/4 to 1 cup of mawa from 1 litre (4 cups) of full-fat milk.

To bake the cake: Pre-heat your oven to moderate 180°C/350°F.
1. Beat the butter, the crumbled mawa and the sugar in a largish bowl, using a hand held electric beater, on high speed until soft and fluffy.

2. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat on medium speed till well incorporated. Add the vanilla and milk and beat till mixed well.

3. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt onto the batter and beat at medium speed and well blended. If you cannot find cake flour, place 2 tablespoon of cornstarch in the bottom of your 1-cup measure and then fill it with all-purpose (plain) flour to make up to 1 cup.

4. Grease and line only the bottom of an 8 inch (20 cm) spring form pan. Pour the batter into this and lightly smooth the top. Place the cashew nuts (or blanched almonds) on top of the batter randomly. Do not press the nuts down into the batter. A Mawa Cake always has a rustic finished look rather than a decorated look.

5. Bake in a preheated moderate oven for about 1 hour until the cake is a golden brown and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Do not over bake the cake or it will dry out. If the cake seems to be browning too quickly, cover it will aluminum foil hallway through the baking time.

6. Remove from oven and allow it to cool for 10 min in the tin. Release the cake, peel off the parchment from the base and let it cool completely.

The Masala Biscuits were a surprise packet for me. Being a first, I was a bit apprehensive about how they'll turn out. These are bound together with yogurt. One must be careful of how much yogurt is added as too much of it makes the dough very fiddly to manage. I didn't use sesame seeds as i didn't have any at hand and I'm not a huge fan either.

Masala Biscuits

Ingredients:
1-3/4 cup (420 ml) (9 oz) (250 gm) all-purpose (plain) flour
2 tablespoons (30 ml) fine white or brown rice flour (optional)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (or according to your taste)
1/2 cup (1 stick) (120 ml) (4 oz) (115 gm) chilled butter, cut into small pieces
3 green chillies, deseeded and chopped
3/4 inch (20 mm) piece of ginger, finely grated
1-1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorn, crushed coarsely
1-1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and crushed coarsely
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (½ oz) (15 gm) granulated sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons finely chopped curry leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh coriander/ cilantro
3 to 4 tablespoons (45 ml to 60 ml) cold yogurt
1-1/2 tablespoons black sesame seeds (or white sesame seeds)
A little oil to brush the tops of the biscuits/ cookies

Method:
1. Put both flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda into the bowl and add the pieces of chilled butter.
Pulse until the mixture takes on the texture of breadcrumbs. Now add chopped green chilies and ginger.

2. Then add crushed peppercorn and cumin, sugar, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Pulse a couple of times.Then add 2 tablespoons of yogurt and pulse again. Add one more tbs of yogurt (or two, as much as needed).

3. Pulse again until the dough just comes together and clumps together. Do not over process or knead.
The dough should be just moist enough to bring everything together to shape into a rough ball.

4. Flatten it into a disc and cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least hour. You can also leave it overnight (up to about 24 hours). Pre-heat your oven to moderate 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

5. Line your baking trays with parchment or grease them with oil. Lightly dust your working surface.
Roll out the dough to 1/8”(3 mm) thickness, not more or your biscuits/ cookies will not be crisp.

6. Sprinkle the sesame seeds uniformly over the dough and use your rolling pin, very lightly, to press them in.
Using cutters of your choice (about 2-1/4 inch (55 mm) to 2½ inch (65 mm) in size), cut out biscuits/ cookies.

7. Place them on lightly greased baking trays. Brush a very thin coat of oil; this will help them brown while baking.Bake in a preheated moderate oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or till they’re done and golden brown on the top.

8. Cool on the trays for about 5 minutes and then on racks. Once they’re completely cool, they should be crunchy.
Servings: Makes about 2 dozen masala biscuits/ cookies that are 2 1/4” (55 mm) to 2 ½” (65 mm)wide.

Set the cake to my neighbors. The kids and adults both enjoyed it over tea. Children are just so honest in their expressions. If it's nice, it's nice else they just won't have it. The biscuits were all over in just 2 days. Anyone who crossed the jar would have a few.

For cakes and cookies made by the Daring Bakers this month, check out the Daring Kitchen.

Savour Mumbai By Chef Vikas Khanna ~ Book Launch

Greatest indian food hasn't traveled cause it's in the indian homes
~ Chef Vikas Khanna

Michelin star Chef Vikas Khanna launched  his book 'Savour Mumbai’ at Imperial hotel yesterday. An event organised by the Imperial’s Culinary Club and Westland. He's a man of precision over and above his unpretentious nature which makes him a darling with all ages in the audience. The first thing he did was meticulously check the mise en place at the venue. That done, he chatted with me for a bit among the audience. Upon striking an instant connection, mentioned my Le Cordon Bleu experience in London and his in Paris. His honesty was reflected in mentioning that other than Leela (his first job) at that time, there weren't other options. Thank God for that I say, see where that and hard work has landed him.
Food, he said is about Human Connection. The thought still lingers. Any country, any cuisine, any dish is incomplete without the human connection. Any meal can be evaluated by it's human connection. The afternoon was spent in this spirit.

We talked about Indian spices.... Spice is a memory of childhood, his grandmother's jeere wali poori served to all relatives who traveled from Amritsar to Vaishno Devi is a lingering memory for them, says he. Most average  people outside India don't even know so many spices exist. I saw a live example of that in my Technical class in school. We had people from very diverse nationalities in class. In a pop quiz, it was the Indian students who knew most of the spices while the rest, thought them to be exotic spices. For us, these are everyday cooking spices. Chef Khanna said he can recognize 64 different sorts of cinnamon with the smell and taste of it and tell the cinnamon's age{eyes rolling in wonder}. Further he adds that all spices at Junoon, his michelin star restaurant in New York are ground in-house except haldi n mirchi. The book has a thoughtful section explaining the Indian spices used in the recipes showcased in the book.

His anecdotes find true resonance with most Indian households in simple yet intrinsic truths. Elaichi(cardamom) is used only when damadji(son-in-law) visits, Kaju(cashews) must only be used whole and never broken or paste form as the expensive nuts should be visible to the guests.

His take that complicated dishes are easy to make but simple dishes are very difficult to make is echoed by many accomplished chefs. His humility is also reflected in 'More u travel in India, more uneducated you feel.' as well as the willingness to accept feedback from his audience and engage with them at an almost personal level.

Chicken Cafereal
Ingredients
1/2 kg Boneless Chicken chunks
4 cups Fresh Coriander, roughly chopped
5 Roughly chopped, Green Chillies
1 tbsp Roughly chopped Ginger
5 cloves Garlic
1 tsp Poppy seeds (khus khus), roasted and soaked in warm water
5 Black Peppercorns
1-inch cinnamon stick
1 tsp Cumin seeds
½  tsp Tamarind pulp
¼ tsp Turmuric powder
3 Cloves
Salt to taste
5 tbsp Oil

Method
1. In a grinder, combine the coriander, chillies, ginger, garlic, poppy seeds, pepper, cinnamon, cumin, tamarind pulp, turmeric and cloves.
2. Add ¼ cup water and salt, and grind to a smooth paste
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the chicken with the ground paste. Mix well and leave to marinate overnight or for at least 6 hours
4. Heat oil in a frying pan; add chicken along with marinade and shallow-fry till chicken is tender and crispy around the edges. Serve hot with pao (bread)

Kaju Kothimbir Vadi
Ingredients
1 cup gram flour (besan)
30 cashew nuts
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 tablespoon tamarind pulp
2 tablespoons finely chopped
fresh coriander
Salt to taste
4 tablespoons oil, plus for shallow-frying

Method
1. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except oil. Add 1 1/2 cups water and mix well to make a very thick batter.
2. Heat 4 tablespoons oil in a frying pan over low heat. Add the prepared batter and cook, stirring continuously, for 15 to 18 minutes till the mixture comes together to make a thick doughy batter. Remove from heat.
3. Grease a small tray and spread the mixture evenly 1-inch thick. Set aside to cool and set. Cut into 2-inch squares.
4. Heat the oil in a frying pan and shallow-fry the squares till golden and crisp.
5. Remove and drain on absorbent paper.
6. Serve hot with coriander and mint chutney or ketchup.

Kacche-Kele ki Asharfi Recipe
Ingredients:
2 tbsp Oil
2 Large Onions finely sliced
6 Unripe green Bananas boiled in their skins
4 Potatoes, boiled
1 ½ tbsp Ginger-garlic paste
2 tbsp Fresh Coriander, finely chopped
2tsp Red Chilli powder
2 tbsp Gram flour (besan)
½ tsp Green Cardamom powder
Salt to taste
2 Medium Capsicums, tops cut off and cleared of seeds and white pith
1 ½ cups Clarified Butter (ghee)

Method:
1. Heat oil in a fry pan over medium heat
2. Add onions and fry golden. Remove and drain on absorbent paper. Finely chop the browned onions
3. Peel the bananas and potatoes and mash well
4. In a mixing bowl, combine the mashed bananas and potatoes with chopped browned onions, ginger-garlic paste, chopped coriander, chilli powder, gram flour, cardamom powder and salt, and mix thoroughly
5. Fill this mixture into the cleaned hollow capsicums and stuff well. Using a sharp knife cut the stuffed capsicum horizontally into 2-inch thick slices
6. Heat the clarified butter in a frying pan and shallow-fry the stuffed capsicum slices till the capsicum softens slightly and the filling is golden and crisp. Remove, drain on absorbent paper and serve hot with Coriander and Mint Chutney or Dahi ki Chutney.

Khubani ka Shahi Tukda
Ingredients:
Rabdi
3 cups Whole Milk
½ cup Sugar
¼ tsp Green Cardamom powder

Shahi Tukda
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1 cup Whole Milk
¼ tsp Saffron strands
Clarified Butter (ghee) for deep frying
4 slices White Bread
100 gms Dried apricots, soaked overnight and drained
2 tbsp Pistachios, finely chopped
2 sheets Edible silver leaf

Method:
1. For the rabdi, heat milk in a kadhai (wok) over medium heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook, stirring continuously, till it thickens to a consistency of a custard sauce.
2. Remove from heat, add sugar and cardamom powder and stir till sugar dissolves. The mixture will thicken on cooling.
3. For the shahi tukda, combine the sugar with 2 cups water in  a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring till sugar dissolves and the syrup thickens to one-string consistency.
4. In another saucepan, combine the milk with saffron and prepared sugar syrup and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and keep warm.
5. Heat the clarified butter in a kadhai over medium heat, and deep fry the bread slices till golden and crisp.
Remove and drain on absorbent paper.
6. Soak the fried bread slices in the warm milk for 2 minutes.
7. Sandwich the cooked apricots between the softened bread. Add the drained apricots to the syrup and cook till tender. Remove apricots from syrup and set aside.
8. To serve, arrange the sweet apricot sandwiches on a plate and spoon rabdi over. Sprinkle over with pistachios and garnish with silver leaf. Serve warm

The book is a keeper for me as it has recipes of the signature dishes from some of the best known restaurants in Mumbai. My favorites are Bade Miya Seekh Kabas, Dakshin Culture Curry, Mahesh Lunch Home, Oh! Calcutta, Trishna and Vrindavan among others. The street food section is an absolute favorite with me as I love Indian street food and craved it in London, while I was away.
The title 'A culinary journey through India's melting Pot' is an apt one for the book as the restaurants selected cover diverse dished from across the nation. The dishes we had at the event were selected keeping this in mind. Chicken Cafreal from Goa, Kaju Kothambir Vada from Maharashtra, Kacche kele ki Ashraf from Hyderabad, Guava and Cottage Cheese Salad from Allahabad and Khubani Ka Shahi Tukda from Lucknow. Add to that list Konkani, Gujrati, Parsi and so on.
The restaurants are listed in alphabetical order making the list easy to comprehend, each restaurant has a photograph of the entrance which makes an instant connect, a short description and the writer's connect with it, followed by recipes. The recipes are well written and easy to understand. The only 1 thing which stood out for me was that the Indian names of ingredients are in brackets... almost as if the book wasn't targeted at Indians. The pictures lend color and are pleasing to the eye.

Go ahead buy it, it's a pleasure to read. Takes you down memory lane if you've been to Mumbai and if you haven't, it make you want to be there and experience this phenomenon first hand .

Badam Kulfi - The Chakle India Cookbook - A Review

A new cookbook launch from an Indian author is always interesting. Laid my hands on Aditya Bal's book The Chakle India Cookbook and read it end-to-end as I lay in bed nursing an allergy induced ENT shut down. Having the doctor tell me to keep quiet for a few days and not talk is torture. Having Aditya's book for company was a bright spot. Having watched his show on NDTV, was curious to see what he's put together in the book. Like the show, his book is a collection of recipes from different parts of India. A book is not a mere collection of recipes... It's a story... It's a connect... The book has lovely pictures of Aditya with various people across the country in each section.

What I like about Aditya is his gumption to follow his dream in the world of Food... being a crossover.. having changed his career from modeling to a television food show host.... he has a lot under his belt to show for the short years he's spent in this space... Travelling to various parts of the country, entering the kitchens and homes of countless people, bringing a focus on diverse regional cuisines in India is something admirable. The map on the front and back cover of the book is a sweet nuance.

Recipes like Rogan Josh, Mutton Yakhni, Galawati Kabab, Amritsari Paneer Bhurji, Kosha Mangsho, Goan Prawn and Mango Ambotik, Malabari Prawn curry and Moru Sambhar represent the varied cuisines from most states of India especially from Kashmir(Since he was born there) and Goa (his favorite place where he trained at some of the restaurants).

Am more of a baker than a cook in the kitchen, with a h-u-g-e sweet tooth.... Started reading the recipes in reverse from the desserts section... There is Badam Kulfi, Nariyal Ladoo, Doodhi ka Halwa, Fruit Custard, Shrikhand, Phirni, Gulab Jamun, Aam ki Kheer, Seviyan and Shahi Tukda....

Haven't made too many Indian desserts before so thought of giving Badam Kulfi a shot. Yes, I hear you... my ENT is shut down and yet I choose Kulfi..... What to do... am a total icecream lover... promised my friends online that I would have just a bite to taste...
pick up

Badam Kulfi
Recipe from The Chakle India Cookbook by Aditya Bal

Ingredients
1 cup blanched, peeled and ground almonds
4 tbsp fresh cream
1 cup condensed milk
Apinch of saffron strands
1/4 cup of milk
A small handful of pistachios
A small handful of almonds, blanched and peeled

Method:
1.  First, to make the kulfi mixture, put the ground almonds, cream and condensed milk into a bowl and whisk thoroughly, till it's fully combined and thick.
2. Heat the milk in a small frying pan and when it's steaming hot, add the saffron strands to the pan, and let it infuse. turn off the heat and let the milk cool, stirring it every few minutes.
3. Once the milk is cooled, add it to the kulfi mixture and fold it in to combine well. The ground almonds will act as a thickener and absorb the milk completely. Whisk the mix well, till it is thick, creamy and homogeneous.
4. Now, heat a small frying pan and add the almonds and pistachios. Roast them for a few minutes on low to medium heat, till they are nutty and aromatic. Transfer to a chopping board and crush them coarsely with the side of a heavy knife or a rolling pin.
5. Reserve about 2tbsp of the crushed nuts and add the rest to the kulfi mixture. Stir through to combine. Now the mix is ready for pouring into the kulfi moulds or clay kujjas.
6. Spoon the deliciously rich and creamy mixture into each mould, cover with a piece of butter paper and secure with a rubber band stretched across the rim of the mould.
7. Put the moulds into the freezer and freeze for 3-4 hours or till the mixture has perfectly set and is hard in texture.
8. Take them out of the freezer and remove the butter paper. Dip the moulds into hot water and turn out the kulfi on a plate. Sprinkle a little of the reserved nuts and serve right away.

I kept the kulfi overnight and got lovely results the next day. It was as Aditya described it delicious, rich and creamy. The only small thing i's have done was to add some crushed cardamom to enhance the flavour a little more. It's a thing with personal taste and not Aditya's kulfi.

Leafing through the book, I found many Meat, Fish n Seafood and Vegetarian recipes. The snacks were interesting too. Would have loved the book even more if it could have better pictures, most of them were extremely close up shots of the dishes with their garnish standing out. Since this is Aditya, the traveler's book, would have expected pictures which did justice to both. Would have loved to hear a traveller's tales on how he collected these recipes from various people across the country. I believe every recipe has a story to tell which gets handed from from 1 person to the next gathering lots of moss on the way making it a tradition.

All I can think now is Saffron.... It's an artists's delight on canvas... The crimson strands making a yellow hue on warm white milk....  While making this recipe, I chanced upon a large number of packets stashed away in my mom's pantry. Am just sooooooo compelled to use them. Had infused some of it in milk for taking these pictures and had it with a glass of milk this morning.... Step aside, cold coffee... make way for saffron milk every morning.

Anushree from Westland publishers sent over the book for a review. Thank a ton, really enjoyed it :)

Kids Enjoy Easter Fun ~ Adults Enjoy with Zesty Orange Chocolate Brownies

Easter is fun time for kids as exams are over in this part of the world.... There's a break from school for kids just before the new session starts in their new classes....

That's Ciona, in her bunny ears... isn't she just adorable.... She informs me that she's big girl now and is going into her BIG class, Nursery-B. She loved the idea that eggs shells can be painted..

I had quite a time preparing for all this.... Cleaned up empty egg shells for the kids to paint.... Made Orange Cookies and went about icing them with royal icing... This was the first time I was dealing with royal icing... Was totally paranoid about how it will work out.... Guess that's what baking is about for me... pushing my limits..... Icing was [and is] back-breaking work for me... need to work very fast with it else due to the horrid temperature n humidity levels here, icing tends to grow a mind of it's own... [which definitely doesn't wanna do what I need it to do....]
This time I thought, instead of just yummy stuff to eat, the kids should get to do some fun activities too... Each of the kids got their own write up on, What is Easter? Why is it celebrated, Why the Bunny and Eggs on Easter? etc which their mummies read out to them Read up here...

They also got an activity sheet with Step-by-Step instructions for making this bunny basket... Find them here....
A print out of an Egg drawing, which they could colour along with the empty eggshells.

Some more colouring fun....

That's Simran and Armaan, my next door neighbours... very sweet kids.... Simran's still working on her basket her mummy informs me...

This post is off to Easter Cake Bake Event, being hosted by Julia at 'A Slice of Cherry Pie ... I guess my 'Zesty Orange Chocolate Brownies' would qualify as cake for this event... :-)

Pat a cake pat a cake baker’s man

Bake me a cake as fast as you can

The kids enjoyed the Easter Fun with cookies, colouring and craft work n I ENJOYED making these while the parents enjoyed my Zesty Orange Chocolate Brownies....

Mr.Nibbles loved the Zesty Orange Chocolate Brownies

Heart Cupcakes n Rainbow Icing for Ciona

Ahhh.... the joy of baking for kids..... They're just adorable.... That's Ciona.... She's a cute little kid who has this running joke with me... मिठाई से कपरे धोते हैं....['indian sweets are used to wash clothes' cause the small white ones look like bars or soap, n she loves to wash clothes.. all sorts of clothes, even washed clothes :-) ]

The rainbow icing was my experiment with leftover icing..... lesson learnt... butter icing in summers is very difficult to handle.... it's either too hot in the kitchen so it melts and doesn't hold shape or if put in the fridge... it hardens and doesn't flow well to ice the cupcakes.....

The heart shape cupcakes happened from the Mini Heart Silicone Wilton Baking Cups bought by my sister from USA.... They did give a nice shape to the cupcakes.... did have to use a knife though to wedge in the join on the top to make the heart shape more pronounced. Over all, was happy with the effect.
Had asked her mom to refrigerate these for storage and heat in the microwave for 10 seconds before eating, when i sent them over..... forget refrigerate.... They were polished off, the second the kids lay their hands on them. Ciona's teenage elder sister, disha refused to be photographed.[super conscious teens :-)]

Email from Ciona
Thank you Nachi di.
I couldn't wait for mom to even bring me a spoon to eat the yummy looking cupcakes.
It was the yummiest I ever had.

tks
Ciona

Orange Butterfly Cookies for Gunjan, The Little Imp

Butterfly In The Wind

A child is........

A butterfly in the wind,
Some can fly higher than others;
but each one flies the best it can.
Why compare one against the other?

Each one is different!
Each one is special!
Each one is beautiful!

Author Unknown

Gunjan is my friend Yogita's daughter..... She's such a cutie....

Her expressions are just brilliant... She has the ability to wrap her parents around her fingers and make them do exactly what she wants in the most adorable way....

The minute she saw a box passing from me to her mom, she just had to know what was in it.... it was opened instantly and oh the look on her face..... made the entire day's effort worthwhile on 'Orange Butterfly Cookies with Chocolate Ganache'.....

She even had a butterfly bib.... infact she herself was looking like a fairy in a white n pink frock...
Since she's had the cookies..... She's been eating out of my hands.... and what a poser she is :-)

The glee n joy in her eyes was so apparent...
I want more.... I want more.... I want more.... I want more.... I want more....

Mommy n baby... gunjan's mimicking the 'googly woogly woosh' of the ponds cold cream ad...

So Readers, What would you do to eat cookies, have you broken jars as kids?

Fruit Pannacotta.... ~ For Tuesdays

This friend of mine loves fruits and fasts on Tuesdays as a health regimen and eats only fruits n curd......
For you.... fruit pannacotta....

Step 1:
Puree the fruits you like in a blender.... I used Sapodilla (Cheeku), Water melon(Tarbooz) and Melon(Kharbooza). Blend 1 fruit at a time.


Step 2:
Add castor sugar to taste depending on the sweetness of the fruits used and mix well in the blender.

Step 3:
To set the fruit, add gelatin (depending on the fruit... Water melon will need more gelatin to set it as compared to cheeku as it's way more watery) and chill till set.

Step 4:
Whip up hung curd and add a layer over the chilled fruit layer.

Step 5:
Decorate with chocolate shavings and thousand island to add some colour.

Step 6:
Enjoyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Hope you had a gr8 time :-)

Happy Birthday to me ~ Cappuccino Tiramisu Cheesecake for Parshad

Wished myself Happy Birthday by making 'Cappuccino Tiramisu Cheesecake' for Parshad.
With babaji, mom and parshad....
The awesome ladies in the kitchen..... Veena didi, Gunu didi, Charu aunty, Meeta didi along with Neha didi, Upma mom and babaji......

My love for coffee reflected in the choice of parshad aswell... It's winters in this part of the world, so I could use loads of hung curd and some whipped cream without the fear of it getting spoilt in the heat... :-)
Coffee Mania, which is why I have a T-shirt that says... "Too much Blood in my Caffeine System"..... and the only thing which wakes me up on a groggy morning is a mommy-made-cold coffee.... an awesome 'pick-me-up'.....

The recipe for this is available at Cappuccino Tiramisu Cheesecake ~Happy Birthday, Baking Queen ~ Deeba
I used loads of Coffee, Kahlua and some coffee flavouring [for the sugar free ones where alcohol couldn't be used]
Ahhhhh... the aroma of coffeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee in the house..........

The soft creamy mixture of hung curd, whipped cream, mascarpone.... so light n heavenly.....

Had cooked for 300 people.... so we had the whole kitchen and room full of stuff for 2 days... The entire bed and then the 2 refrigerators were full of little boxes at various stages of preparation.....

Every body picthed in while making parshad..... mom and the 2 cooks in our house.....

This is one of the cutest kids in mall road... Gunjan.... She's a real imp... She's one bundle of happy energy and bounces off the walls after eating the cakes, sweets n desserts that i get her..... ain't she adorable...

The verdict: Yummy........ lots of people asked for seconds... however, the kids found it a tad bit bitter....