This is Christmas season...

If anyone saw the final episode of Masterchef Australia would know why I got inspired to start making gingerbread cookies. I am actually contemplating doing a small house as well but...lets see that might happen soon.

Did some online research and realised all recipes call for something called molasses. I knew that it was some kind of a sugar derivative but wasn't too sure. Well Wiki describes it as :

Molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet, the amount of sugar extracted, and the method of extraction. Sweet sorghum syrup is known in some parts of the United States as molasses, though it is not true molasses.

But this can be substituted by honey so that's what I went with. Unfortunately the recipe didn't turn out the way it should have. The dough was dry and didn't come together. Was rescued by my very experienced maid who said "isnme thoda chaashni dal sakte hai" and that worked wonders. After that it was just a question of cookie cutters and the oven and then all the fun started. With a little icing sugar, sprinkles and some melted chocolate I was like a little child in craft class.

You can see the end results!!

Quiche Lorraine

A clever way to get little French children to eat their spinach!

I love a good quiche the problem is no one seems to know how to make a good quiche.  So I decided to make it myself.

The most famous quiche is a Quiche Lorraine and I have been trying to perfect it for some time now. Finally hit upon the perfect blend of cream eggs and milk so decided to share!

Ingredients

Short crust pastry dough

Flour (maida) - 200 gms

Butter - 100 gms 

Eggs - 1

Filling

Cream - 200 ml

Milk - 100 ml

Eggs - 5 

Bacon - 1 pkt (about 10 slices)

Cheese - 200 gms (I just use a regular Indian cheese)

Spinach - 1 bundle

Onion - 1 small

Garlic - 2 cloves

Nutmeg - freshly ground to taste

Salt - to taste

Pepper - freshly ground to taste

Putting it all together!

Dough

Rub together the flour and cold butter till it resembles bread crumbs the process is called 'sablage' in French which comes from the French word 'sable' which means sand so it literally means 'sanding it'. Add a cold beaten egg and just about bring the dough together do not over work the dough. Form into a ball, flatten and wrap in a cling wrap and put into the fridge for 30 mins.

Roll between two sheets of cling wrap till about 2 mm thick. Carefully tuck into a tart tin and blind bake for 20 mins. Blind baking is basically baking the tart in the oven without a filling but because it has egg and can rise you need to weigh it down. I line the tart with a baking sheet and weigh it down with channa/rajma. These can be used later. 

Filling

In the meanwhile sauté the onions and garlic and add the spinach and cook for a few minutes till the spinach has wilted. Chop and cook the bacon till it turns a nice dark pink. Mix the eggs, milk, cream and grated cheese together till it is a smooth and creamy mix. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and then add the bacon. Be careful not to over season and remember there is lots of salt in the bacon as well as the cheese. 

Remove the tart from the oven and carefully take out the channa/rajma filled parchment paper. Spread the spinach mix at the bottom of the tart and pour the cream mix on top. Cook for 30-40 mins till the custard has set and the crust is slightly golden brown.

This can be eaten cold as well as warm with a nice fresh salad.

It was my sister in laws birthday yesterday and that gave me the perfect excuse to create a new dessert. Yes I need excuses to make dessert, coming from a family of over weight and diabetic people stops me from making desserts too often. 

I knew she likes chocolate and strawberries and that to me is a sinfully perfect match the kind you have when you are feeling extra decadent or simply a bit naughty.

There really weren't any easy to make combinations of the two that I could find online that could also pass off as a birthday cake.

So I took a recipe from my Cordon Bleu days and added my own twist on it. It was as indulgent as I had imagined and tasted way better than it looked (I really need to improve my cake decoration skills!).

Hope you do try it!

 Ingredients

Cake

Flour - 100 gms 

Eggs - 4 whole eggs + 1 yolk

Sugar - 120 gms

Cocoa powder - 20 gms

Ganache

Dark chocolate  - 500 gms

Cream - 500 gms

Strawberry compote

Fresh strawberries - 1 box

Imbibing syrup - 100 gms sugar, 125 ml water, vanilla essence

Cake tin

Use a 8" mold.

Making it!

The Cake

Ok so this is a cake with no baking powder and no butter and therefore requires extra effort to make it rise. Start with beating the eggs and the sugar over a double boiler for those who don't know what that it is basically take a bowl and keep it over a pan of boiling water so that the bowl gets indirect heat and keep whisking the eggs and sugar till it is double in volume and has turned a pale yellow almost white. You could use a hand whisk but I would recommend an electric one. The mix (Sabayon) should come up to about 36C and then you can take it off the heat and keep mixing. If you feel the temperature is dropping put it back onto the double boiler.

Then sift together the flour and cocoa powder and then slowly little by little fold into the Sabayon. This is a very critical process and should be done gently else the air you have incorporated will be lost.

Pour into a buttered and flour dusted baking pan (you could line the bottom with baking paper) and bake at 180 till done. The time will depend on your oven as well as the dept of your cake tin. You will know your cake it done when you pierce the center with a knife and it comes out clean.

The Ganache

Making ganache is super simple. Simply chop up your choclate. Heat the cream and pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate. Let it sit for a min and then slowly start folding it starting from the center. The chocolate and cream will miraculously amalgamate. In case the temp drops just put it onto the double boiler and stir till it has melted and it gooey and rich and shiny.

The imbibing syrup

Pour the sugar into the water and boil till melted! Add vanilla essence.

The strawberry compote

Add chopped strawberries to the imbibing syrup and boil for 1 min do not over boil! Drain and reserve the syrup.

Putting it all together!

Once the cake has cooled (preferably cold) slice in the center to make two equal circles. Pour the imbibing syrup onto the first circle till it has soaked through. Slather on the ganache onto the cake and top with the strawberry compote. Place the second circle on top with the top of the cake touching the strawberry compote basically place it upside down this makes it easier to ice as well as the syrup gets imbibed properly. Pour the syrup on top and let the cake cool for 15-20 mins. Add as thin layer of ganache all over covering the sides of the cake as well. Cool for another 30 mins. Remove and add another layer of the ganache all over and smooth the whole thing down.

Decorate as you wish!

Enjoy with a glass of milk or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Spicy pork curry

I have been trying to perfect pork curry for the last few months now. Its an easy meat to cook with and tastes incredible when cooked right. I dont know why people tend to be queasy about eating pork.You do need to clean it well and make sure you get all the stray hair off the skin before you cook it. I rather enjoy the process of plucking the hair out with a tweezer. So back to my pork curry, after reading through endless recipes and trying it out a few times myself I have hit upon a curry which is fabulous.

Serve this hot hot hot with steamed rice and trust me you wont want to eat anything else.

Ingredients

Marinated Pork 1 kg with bones

Onions 2 sliced fine

Ginger/Garlic paste 2 tsps

Green chillies 3-4

Haldi 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Pork Masala 3 tsps (recipe given below)

Oil 2 tsps

Pork marinade

Vinegar 2 tsps

Soya Sauce 2 tsps

Tomato ketchup 3-4 tsps

Salt to taste

Marinate the pork for about 2 hours before cooking.

Pork Masala

Star anise 2 pieces

Green Cardamom 5-6 pieces

Black Cardamom 2 pieces

Cloves 5-6 pieces

Black pepper 1 tsps

Cumin 2 tsps

Cinnamon large stick

Dry red chillies 2

Preparation of Pork Masala

Dry roast masalas till they get slightly smokey and coarsely pound. Make the masala fresh don't make and store.

Cooking instructions

Heat oil in a kadai and add the onions, sliced green chillies and ginger/garlic paste and saute till soft. Add haldi, salt and most of the masala and immediately add the marinated pork. Coat the pork pieces with the masala and let simmer for 5 mins. Cover with water and let it cook for about 45 mins till tender.

Sprinkle with masala and serve hot with steamed rice.