An exciting moment - My recipe on Rediff page

I am so excited today after seeing my recipe published on Rediff's page.

A couple of weeks ago I saw an announcement from Rediff to publish Christmas recipes. I immediately shared my Marshmallows  recipe with lots of enthusiasm.

Today I was image googling my 'spoonandpaper'  (I do it often 😝😜) and found my marshmallows picture there. So happy to see my recipe on a well known website. Thank you Rediff.😊

Choco Bread Twists

INGREDIENTS:

Agege bread dough  - half batch

Choco-spread / Nutella - 1/2 to 3/4 cup

For brushing on top:

Egg - 1 / Melted Butter - 2 tbsp

Milk - 1 tbsp

Beat it together. 

METHOD:

1. Roll the dough to 1/2 cm thick rectangular sheet.

2. Smear the choco-spread on top.

3. Fold the upper and lower quarter to the center as shown in picture below.

4. Fold the upper flap on top of the lower fold.

5. Gently roll it to 1 cm thick sheet.

5. Brush egg wash on top. Trim and cut it into 1 cm long strips.

6. Twist each strip and place it on a greased or parchment-lined baking tray. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest and rise for 15 minutes.

7. Bake it in a preheated 200°c oven for about 12-15 minutes.
8. Right after taking out of the oven apply butter well on whole bread and let it rest covered with a cloth for 2-3 minutes to soften the bread completely.

Soft & Fluffy Choco Bread Twists are ready!!! 

Egg Puff

Makes 4 puffs.

INGREDIENTS:

Homemade Puff Pastry  - 1 batch

For the filling:

Hard boiled eggs - 2 (cut into half) 

Oil - 2 tbsp

Onion - 2 (medium,  finely sliced) 

Ginger & garlic paste - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp

Chilli powder - ½ tsp 

Coriander powder - ½ tsp

Pepper powder - ½ tsp

Garam masala - ½ tsp 

Salt - as required 

Tomato sauce - 1 tbsp

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

For egg wash:

Egg - 1

Milk - 1tbsp

METHOD:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add sliced onions. Cook till the onions become golden brown. Then add ginger & garlic paste and cook for 2-3 mins. Add all masala powders and salt. Cook till the oil separates. Add 2 tbsp water to bring everything together. Add tomato sauce and curry leaves and mix well. Remove the pan from heat. Let it cool.

2. Roll the puff pastry dough to a 1/2 cm thick sheet. Trim the edges and cut it into 4 small rectangles.

3. Place about 1 tbsp of masala on each puff pastry, followed by half a slice of egg. Put some masala on top of the egg as well.

4. Fold the upper half of the pastry on top of the filling.
5. For egg wash, beat the egg and milk. Brush/apply the egg wash on top, over the folded puffs.

 6. Place the puffs on a greased baking tray and bake in a preheated 220°c oven for 20-25 mins or until the puff pastry is golden in colour.

A yummy evening snack is ready!!!  

Nigerian Agege Bread Dough

Agege Bread is a Nigerian bread. We can make many bread recipes with this dough as base. One dough for all. Very simple but I promise you it's perfect.

Recipe source: Bilikis Kitchen
INGREDIENTS:
Flour - 3 + 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Instant Yeast - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Melted Butter - 1 + 1/2 tbsp
Vinegar - 1/2 tsp
Warm milk - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/2 cup
Egg - 1

METHOD:
1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Add the wet ingredients one by one to combine the dough thoroughly.

2. The dough will be slightly sticky first. Transfer the dough to a floured workspace and keep kneading till it's no longer sticky and turns smooth. Kneading well for a long time increases the elasticity.

My little boy... Lending a helping hand. 😊

3. Roll the dough to a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl and cover it with a cling film or foil tightly. Let it rise in a warm place for about an hour or till double in size.

4. Turn out the dough to a slightly floured surface and use it according to your recipe.

Note:
1. For this recipe, my 1 cup = 240 ml
2. For Savoury recipe, reduce the sugar to half quantity.

Dilkush / Dilpasand

 

My Mom loves Dilkush a lot.. During our childhood vacations, whenever we travelled, she would buy these from the nearby bakery to have it on our way. She was the one asking me to bake this since last month.

As I googled, many recipes had the filling stuffed in buns. But that is not the perfect way. Actually the filling should be stuffed in puff pastry. So when I learnt to make my own puff pastry, I immediately tried this Dilkush and it was a big hit. MY MOM LOVED IT.

This will take you...  all the way back to your childhood. Sweet memories. Nostalgic.

INGREDIENTS :
Homemade Puff Pastry  - 1 batch

Filling:

Dessicated coconut - 3 tbsp

Tutti frutti - 3 tbsp

Brown sugar - 1/2 tbsp

White sugar - 1/2 tbsp

Butter - 1/2 tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon powder- 1/4 tsp

For brushing on top:
Egg yolk or melted butter - 1 tbsp
Milk - 1 tbsp

METHOD:
1. Mix all the filling ingredients and microwave for about 20 seconds.
2. Filling is ready.

3. Roll the puff pastry dough to a 3mm thin sheet. Trim the edges to make a square. Cut it into 4 small squares.

Steps 4, 5 &  6

4. Place about 2 tsp of the filling on the centre of a square. Brush the four corners slightly with water. This helps them seal when pressed together.
5. Fold 2 opposite corners to the centre and press down firmly to seal them together.
6. Fold the other 2 corners over the and again press them firmly together.
7. Repeat steps 4 - 6 for the remaining 3 square puff pastry sheets.
8. Brush the top with melted butter+milk mixture or egg yolk+milk mixture.
9. Place it all in a lined and greased baking tray and bake it in a preheated 220° oven for about 15-20 minutes.
10. It's done.

Simple Potato Roast

INGREDIENTS :
Potatoes - 350 gms
Maida - 1 tbsp
Rice flour - 1 tbsp
Cornflour - 1 tbsp
Red chill powder - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - as needed
Oil - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

METHOD :
1. Boil and peel the potatoes, and chop it to small cubes.
2. In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients well. Toss in the potatoes and mix well so that the masala powders coat the potatoes nicely.
3. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan and add the mustard seeds. When it splatters add the potato mixture. Stir and roast for about 5-7 minutes.
4. Finally add the curry leaves, stir for a minute.
5. Serve hot.

Homemade Puff Pastry

The easy puff pastry recipe.
Adapted from: Kalai's Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
For dough:
Maida - 1 cup
Cooking butter - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1/4 tsp
Ice cold water - 6-8 tbsp

For layers :
Cooking butter for layers - 8 tbsp
Maida - 1/2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp

METHOD:
1. Mix maida, butter, salt and sugar well. Add the water little by little and knead it to soft dough. Place it in a slightly floured tray covered with with cling film or cloth and refrigerate for 30 mins.
2. Take out the dough and roll it on a slightly floured workspace to a rectangle shape of 0.5 cm thick.
3. Grease 3/4 of the sheet with 6 tbsp of butter and sprinkle 1/2 tbsp of maida over it. Fold it as shown in the picture below. Place it on a slightly floured tray covered and again refrigerate for 30 mins.

4. Take out the dough and grease the remaining 2 tbsp butter all over and sprinkle 1/2 tsp maida over it. Fold it as shown in the picture below.  Place it on a slightly floured tray covered and again refrigerate for 30 mins.

5. Puff pastry dough is ready. You can use it for any recipe claiming for puff pastry sheets. To use, just roll the chilled dough to a 3 mm thin sheet and use it as per the recipe.

Cool layers!!! 

Note :
1. For this recipe, my 1 cup = 240ml
2. If the butter melts in between the process, refrigerate for 30 minutes and then continue.
3. For later use, wrap the dough in a cling wrap and store it in freezer for about 10 days. Before use, thaw naturally and refrigerate for 30 mins.

Yummy Doughnut / Donut

The soft, fluffier donuts. I don't want to compare it with any of the store-bought ones but it's the best... You know why... It's Homemade. The very simple simple recipe (yes... It's not a typo... I typed it twice) yields the best ever homemade donuts.

Recipe source : Bilikis Kitchen

INGREDIENTS:
For dough :
Flour - 250 gms
Sugar - 37 gms
Instant yeast - 2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Vanilla sugar - 1 tbsp
Butter - 55 gms
Egg - 1
Warm milk - 120 ml (105-110ºF (40–43ºC)) 

For coating :
Icing sugar - 1/4 cup
Vanilla sugar - 1 tsp
(Mix it well)

METHOD:
1. Mix all the five dry ingredients. Add butter and egg and mix well. Slowly add the warm milk little by little to combine the dough thoroughly.
2. The dough will be slightly sticky first. Keep kneading till it's no longer sticky and turns smooth. Kneading well for a long time increases the elasticity.
3. Roll the dough to a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl and cover it with a cling film or foil tightly. Let it rise in a warm place for about an hour or till double in size.
4. Turn out the dough to a slightly floured surface and flatten the it with a rolling pin to about ½ inch thick.
5. Use a donut cutter to cut the donut. Remove the holes and transfer the donuts to a lightly floured baking tray or parchment.
6. Let the donuts sit in a warm place to rise again for about 15-20 minutes. Cover loosely with a cloth.
7. Heat oil in a frying pan in slow flame. Fry one at a time. Slide doughnut into the hot oil. Turn it over as it rises to the top. Fry them on each side until golden brown. Remove to drain on a wire rack.
8. Finally coat the donuts with the icing sugar mixture while it's slightly warm or dip it in any of your favorite glaze.

Sit back and enjoy the puffy, fluffy n soft donuts. You'll love it.

Note:
1. Yields 10-12 donuts.
2. I rolled all the donut holes to a bun and baked it in a preheated oven at 180° for about 15 minutes. It too turned out yummy.

Less-sweet Buttercream - Sawsen's Recipe

Recipe adapted from Sawsen's

A Less-sweet.. Buttery Buttercream. And surprisingly, quite stable too. Silky smooth and Yum...

INGREDIENTS:
Milk - 30 ml
Sugar - 50 gms (measured, powdered and sieved)
Butter - 75 gms
Essence - 1/4 tsp

Method:
1. Mix sugar and milk, stir until the sugar dissolves.
2. Beat the butter light and fluffy. Then add the essence.
3. Pour the sugar-milk mixture slowly little-by-little into the butter and beat till it turns silky smooth.

My tip:
1. All the ingredients must be in room temperature.
2. Powder the sugar finely.
3. I used Amul cooking butter.
4. Tastes more better if made the previous day. Make it and refrigerate in an airtight container. For using, remove it from refrigerator and bring it to room temperature.

Eggless Cake - Using homemade condensed milk

INGREDIENTS:
Sweetened condensed milk - 200 ml
Powdered Sugar - 25 gms
Butter - 50 gms
Plain flour - 125 gms
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Essence - 1 tsp
Warm milk - as required

METHOD:
1. Beat condensed milk and sugar till light and fluffy. Add butter and essence and beat well.
2. Sieve flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add it to the condensed milk mixture. Fold gently.
3. Add warm milk little by little to make a dropping consistency.
4. Pour it into a greased and floured baking tray and bake it in a preheated 180° oven for about 30 minutes or untill the cake is done.  

Chinese Muffins

 Recipe adapted from Neetu's

Minimum ingredients... Maximum sponginess... Light n Fluffy...

INGREDIENTS:

Eggs - 2 (45-50 gms each) 

Plain flour - 50 gms

Cornflour - 10 gms

Sugar - 50 gms

Salt - ⅛ tsp

Oil - ¾ tsp

Any essence - ½ tsp

Baking powder - ¼ tsp (optional) 

METHOD:

1. Sieve plain flour, cornflour and baking powder together. 

2. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar, salt, essence and oil using Bain-Marie method. 

3. Beat until it turns pale and fluffy and soft peaks are formed. 

4. Then  gently fold in the sieved ingredients. 

5. Scoop the batter into muffin tray lined with paper cases and bake it in preheated 180° oven for about 12-15 mins.

Vegan n Wacky Cake

Here is a recipe... Totally vegan yet the yummiest cake ever... No eggs, milk or butter. You can make it gluten free using GF flour... So go ahead and indulge in... 

INGREDIENTS :

Flour - 1 ½ cups

Sugar - 1 cup (powdered)

Unsweetened cocoa powder - 1/4 cup

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Baking soda - 1 tsp 

Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

White vinegar - 1 tbsp

Vegetable oil - 5 tbsp

Water - 1 cup

METHOD :

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

2. Then add the wet ingredients one by one and mix well until completely combined and no lumps remain.

3. Pour the batter in a greased and lined tray and bake it in a pre-heated 180° oven for about 30 minutes or until the cake is done. 

4. Frost it with your favorite icing and just dive in. 😋. 

My Tip:

1. My 1 cup for this recipe measures 240 ml. 

2. Baking pan size - Round 8 inch. 

Instant Homemade Condensed Milk for Pennies

After doing a lot of research work with many recipes available on the internet... This recipe is damn good and tastes same like the store-bought condensed milk....just the same.

INGREDIENTS:

Milk powder - 1 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Warm water - 1 cup

Butter - 1 tbsp

Cornflour - 1/2 tsp

Baking soda - 1/4 tsp

METHOD:

1. Add all the ingredients to a mixer jar and blend it well to mix thoroughly.

2. Transfer it to a sauce pan and heat the mixture in low flame. 

3. Keep stirring continuously till it coats the back of the spoon (turns to a slightly thick pouring sauce consistency).

4. Remove from heat and let it cool.

The mixture thickens as it cools.

Homemade condensed milk is ready in a jiffy.

My Tips:

1. Store in an airtight glass jar in refrigerator. 

2. Milk powder, full-cream...the better. 

3. My 1 cup for this recipe measures 240 ml. 

4. This recipe yields approximately 300 gms condensed milk. 

Eggless Honey Cake 🍯 🎂

Honey Cake...a cake drenched in sugar syrup with jam and coconut frosting... Our childhood special cake in bakeries. Bit over sweet yet a yummy moist cake.

This one was in my to-do cake list for a long time... As this is my Husband's favourite cake (surprisingly, he does not eat over-sweet goodies).

Now... Now... Now... It's his birthday today. So if there is a day to bake this cake... Then it is today.... Right? 😉😄

Yessssss....I baked it today...No eggs, no butter, and no beater. A simple whisk-it-all process.

Okay, how did I get this recipe? The answer is very simple. I googled and directly hopped in to one of my favourite kitchens... "Raks Kitchen ".  I believe in her recipes blindly. Last night I decided to bake this cake... And with no prior trials, I made the cake with great confidence today.  The taste was not too sweet and the cake turned out perfect.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR 🎂 😄

Fine...Now to the recipe...

INGREDIENTS:

For the cake:
Maida/flour - 1¼ cup
Condensed milk - 14 tbsp
Oil - ½ cup
Orange juice (I used water)  - ½ cup
Powdered sugar - 3 tbsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - ½ tsp
Lemon Juice (I used ACV) - 1 tsp
Vanilla essence (I used orange essence) - 1 tsp

For the syrup:
Water – ½ cup
Sugar – 2 tbsp
Honey – ¼ cup
Vanilla essence - ½ tsp

For the frosting:
Mixed fruit jam – 4 tbsp
Powdered Sugar – 1 tsp
Orange red food colour - a pinch
Desiccated coconut – as required

METHOD:

For the cake:
1. Seive maida, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl and mix well. Set it aside.
2. In another bowl add the remaining ingredients and whisk well.
3. Now add the maida mixture to it and whisk gently till everything combines well.
4. Pour the batter into a greased and lined baking pan and bake it in a preheated oven @ 180°C for about 30 mins or till the cake is done.
5. Remove the cake from the baking pan, invert it and remove the lining paper. Let it cool.

While the cake is baking, prepare the syrup and frosting and let it cool.

For the syrup:
1. Mix sugar and water and let it boil till the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.
2. When the syrup is WARM, add honey and vanilla essence and mix well. Let it cool.

For the frosting:
1. Mix jam, powdered sugar and food colour and heat it in low flame and keep stirring it to melt to a smooth paste. It just takes a minute. Remove from heat.

I trimmed the top and then inverted the cake for frosting

Cake assembling:
1. Maintain the cake in inverted position (bottom side as top),  as it gives a flat surface to frost easily.
2. Now prick holes all over the flat surface using a toothpick.
3. Spoon the sugar syrup slowly and generously on top, for the cake to absorb it through the pricked holes.
4. Over it, spread the jam paste and top it with dessicated coconut.

My tips:
1. My 1 cup measures 240 ml.
2. For the cake,  I didn't have orange juice in hand, so I used water and orange essence instead and avoided the vanilla essence.
3. I substituted lemon juice with equal measure of ACV.
4. For the frosting,  my jam was brown in color, so I added a pinch of orange red food color.
5. I baked ¾th of the measurements in a loaf pan for 30 mins.
6. Finally I trimmed the sides of the cake to give a neater look.

7 Cup Burfi

Yes... 7 Cup Burfi, the ingredients sums to 7 cups totally. Its taste is combo of Mysore Pak and Coconut Burfi.  A simple, humble and yummy recipe. Perfect for any special occasion and can be prepared in a jiffy.

Ingredients:
Besan flour - 1 cup
Dessicated coconut - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 cups
Milk - 1 cup
Nuts (cashew & almonds, powdered) - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 cup
Yellow food colour - a pinch (optional) 

Method:
Note: Maintain low flame for the entire recipe.
1. Heat a non-stick pan and add the besan flour and dry roast it for a couple of minutes. Keep stirring to avoid it from changing to brown color.
2. Add all other ingredients one by one (coconut, sugar, milk and nuts), and stir well continously. Finally add the ghee.
3. Cook till the mixture leaves the sides and when you start seeing small white bubbles, immediately switch off the stove.
4. Transfer the mixture into a ghee-greased tray and level it.
5. Using a knife, slice it while it's still WARM.
6. An instant burfi is ready.

MY TIP:
1.  For half measurement,  my tray size : 22 cm * 12 cm. 

Parsi Mawa Cake

Recipe adapted from Neetu's

Ingredients:

Flour - 1¼ cup

Baking powder - ½ tsp

Cardamom Powder/Essence - 1/4 tsp

Khoya / Mawa (unsweetened) - 100 gms

Butter - 6 tbsp

Sugar (powdered)  - 1 cup 

Eggs - 2

Milk - 6 tbsp

Almonds & Cashews (chopped finely) - To garnish

Method:

1. In a bowl add maida and baking powder. Mix well and set aside. 

2. In another bowl add sugar, butter, khoya and cardamom powder and beat till light and fluffy. 

3. Add the eggs one by one and beat it for a couple of minutes.
4. Slowly add the maida mixture little by little and milk and beat till everything is mixed well. Don't over beat.  

5. Pour the batter into a greased and lined baking tray. 

6. Sprinkle cashews and almonds on top. 

 7. Bake it for 35-45 minutes or until the cake is done. 

Note:
1. I used half of the measurement of all ingredients to make this cake.
2. My 1 cup measures 250 ml for this recipe. 

Marshmallows - The easy and best recipe

I've already posted a marshmallow recipe. But I have to frankly accept that this is the easiest, quicker and best recipe. So here comes the recipe... 

Ingredients:
Sugar - 180 gms
Water - 75 gms
Gelatin - 12 gms
Water - 60 gms
Pineapple essence - ¼ tsp
Yellow color - a few pinches
Cornflour - for dusting

METHOD:
1. Soak gelatin in 60 gms water in a glass bowl for an hour.
2. Mix sugar and water (75 gms). Bring to boil to a thick syrup consistency (soft ball stage - 240°F). Remove from heat.
3. Pour this mixture drizzling slowly into the soaked gelatin and beat with an electric mixer starting with slow speed and gradually to high speed.
4. After a couple of minutes, add the essence and color and beat the mixture till soft peaks are formed.
3. Pour this into a butter greased tray using a spatula. And let it set overnight at room temperature.
4. Remove the set marshmallows from the tray and place it on a cutting board dusted with cornflour. Coat it with flour on all sides. 
5. Cut into squares and dust with corn flour.
6. Store it in air tight containers. Stays well for 2-3 days in room temperature.

NOTE:
1. Use sharp knife to cut the marshmallows. Dust it with flour before using it.

2. Output - 230 gms marshmallows
3. For 1½ measurement : My tray size - 10 inches * 6 inches.