Quick Tiramisu made with a 'Surprise Ingredient', step by step

Hi All!

I’m too excited as I type this post on my laptop and I’m telling myself again and again, Yes, I did it. I know, I’m just another lover of Tiramisu and Tiramisu being such a popular dessert, so many versions are available on the net for one to try. But I had to make my version with my inputs and tweaks… and I’m glad that the tweak worked and I can challenge you to try it and fall in love with this dessert again, if you already love it. And for those who have not tried Tiramisu, you have definitely missed something very tasty in your life!

I had tasted this sinful, luscious, melt in mouth dessert for the first time at Taj Aguada, Goa, ages back and had completely fallen for it. After that the word Tiramisu would make my mouth water and dearest S would always order it just to observe the expressions on my face, while I savoured it. I wanted to try this dessert at home but never knew how to make it. I surfed the net and was introduced to the name Mascarpone Cheese and I spotted it later in a gourmet store but the price tag could not motivate me to buy. Finally, after so many years this cheese is available in Indian market manufactured by an Indian company at an affordable price.So, about a week back I decided in the morning, no matter what comes in my way, I’ll make this dessert that day. I had already bought the lady fingers in my previous city and I had the sugar, coffee and the rest of it ready…

The original recipe demands a coffee liqueur, usually Kahlua or sherry is added to the preparation for the special effect. But I had something else in mind. A few years back when we had visited S’s friend M (who is now the MD of Godrej, Nature’s Basket, a gourmet store, where I loved shopping during my Mumbai days in Lokhandwala, Andheri, which was there first store) he offered me wine to drink and I refused politely saying that I am not into drinks. He gave me many other options and the non drinker that I’m, I kept refusing. Finally he asked me what do I like to drink and I replied a cold coffee or a virgin Pina Colada. On hearing my choice of drinks, he said, I’ve a perfect drink for you which I’m sure you will like, it’s a fruit liqueur  made in Africa using the fruit of Marula, which is creamy and  has a taste similar to coffee. Reluctantly I agreed to have a v.small  glass of that liqueur with loads of ice.

I was so surprised at myself when I sipped it, that I had actually quite liked the taste. Later on, I forgot about the drink but S did not! On our trip to Nepal, S picked this bottle and gifted me. I never had the liqueur again but the flavour did motivate me to use it rightly in some recipe and I finally used it in my Tiramisu and guess what, it gave an excellent taste and my idea of using  it turned out a HIT. The liqueur is called Amarula. Though adding liqueur is completely optional but believe me it makes a huge difference to the flavour and taste. Do try it and then praise me for my innovation, .

Excuse me for not able to cut perfect squares of the dessert as I had set it in a larger square dish and the dessert being so soft and the temperature rising now could not hold it’s shape perfectly during the clicks.

TIRAMISU  MADE WITH AMARULA LIQUER Preparation Time:20mins Serves: 10People Ingredients 200ml Medium-full fat cream 200gms Mascarpone Cheese 1/2cup castor sugar 3/4cup water 5-6tsp coffee powder (use premium quality) 12 lady fingers (biscuits) or Baked sponge cake pieces 3tsp coffee essence/ vanilla essence 3tbsp Amarula Liqueur (optional) chocolate and coffee powder mix for garnishing Method Boil water and add the coffee powder and mix. Cool and add the essence and the liqueur. Mix the mascarpone and sugar for a minute and add about 1/4 cup coffee mix to it. Beat the cream on an ice bath till firm peaks are formed and then fold it into the mascarpone gently. Keep two 5x5 inch square dishes or a 10x10 dish ready. Soak the lady fingers one by one in the remaining coffee mix and line at the base of the dish, spread a layer of the Mascarpone and then layer again with the soaked lady fingers and finish with Mascarpone layer. Chill  for 5-6 hours to set. Sprinkle chocolate and coffee powder on top and serve.

With Holi just a few days away, this dessert is a perfect way to treat your friends.
Sending this to Anjali's Cakes,Cookies and Desserts.

Sending this to Rasi's I'm Star Event 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Event Round Up 'Only' Oats & The Winner of Giveaway

Hi All!

Presenting you the round up of 'Only' Oats. There were total of 27 entries from India and other countries. One can check the varied use of Oats in the different recipes.

The winner is chosen from the entries in India. I have used Random method to choose the winner. 

Out of the entries from 1-22, the winner is number 13, Oatmeal raisin Cookies by Tickling Palates. Congrats Radhika. Mail me your address to cookingoodfood@gmail.com. 

1.  Oats  Idly	2.  Oats- Choco Fudge	3.  Broken Wheat-Oats Idli  & Oats- Coconut Chutney	4.  Oat meal Banana Smoothie	5. Oat meal Breakfast Smoothie	6.  Oats Chilla
7.  Oats and Flax seed Muthia	8.  Cake Topped Granola Bars	9.  Oats, Dates, and Almond Shake	10.  Oats Chocolate Payasam	11.  Oats-Corn Balls	12.  Oat meal Choco Chip Muffins
13. Oatmeal Raisin Cookies	14.  Avarekalu &  Oats Fritters	15.  Oats Cookies	16. Nutella Oatmeal Cookies	17.  Oats Lassi	18.  Oats Pongal
19.  Oats Kesari	20.  Baby Potatoes With Oats Stuffed Baby Aubergine	21.  Oaty-Fruity Salad	22.  Choco Oats Energy Bars(No Bake)

23.  Finger millet & Oats Eggless square bake	24.  Oats  Payasam	25.  Oats & Aloo Puris	26.  Brazilnut and Raisin crunchies
27.  Cherry and Chocolate muffins

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Bitter Gourd Fry

          Like I mentioned earlier, I like bitter gourds very much, but since the other two people at home don't like it much, I hardly cooked them, especially this fry. I grew up, eating this at least once a week, my father being a big fan of this vegetable. I don't know whether I loved it then, but now, when I visit my parents I specifically ask for this. Couple of weeks back, I decided to make this just for me ( of course I made another curry for the rest of the family). This rarely happens or should I say, never happened. Since I have never made this curry, I called my mother for the recipe, and was very happy when it came out well, of course when she makes it, it tastes even better. But now, coming to the surprising part, the husband, who I thought, would never touch this curry, ended up finishing half of it. Do our tastes change as we grow older, well, but now I can make this fry more often..

Need To Have

• Bitter Gourd - 1 packed cup, sliced
• Mochai Or Papdi Lilva - 1/2 cup
• Onion - 1 big chopped
• Garlic - 4 or 5 chopped
• Green Chillies - 4 chopped
• Tomatoes - 2 very big ones chopped
• Powdered Fennel Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10 

Method
          Heat oil, add the fennel seeds powder followed by the onions, garlic and green chillies, saute till the onion turns transparent. Add the curry leaves and the tomatoes, saute till the tomatoes turn mushy, then add the turmeric powder, bitter gourd pieces and the mochai, cover and cook. Once they are cooked, remove the lid, keep frying on low heat for about 10 mins, add more oil if needed. Remove and serve with rice and dal or sambar.
Sending this to Vegetarian Food And Me for I'm The Star event,
                   to UK Rasoi for the "For U, Mum" event,
                   to Food Delicious for the Only South Indian event,
                   to Srav's Cooking Concepts for Vegan Diets - Only Plant Based event and
                   to Roshan's Cucina who is hosting this month Gayathri's WTML event .

Note
Add more or less green chillies, the bitterness of the vegetable is balanced with the hot green chillies and the sourness from the tomatoes.
You can leave out the garlic and mochai ( a type of broad beans), my mother never added them, of course garlic gives a nice flavor.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Avalakki Bissi Bele Bhaath..A Quick Fix With Beaten Rice

Hi!

I'm kick starting contributions to my event 'Only' South Indian, hosted here at Foodelicious, with a very tasty preparation from the state of Karnataka, which is S's native state. I have reiterated several times that my MIL is an excellent cook and is my guide and tutor to Karnataka style cooking or in more romantic word's she has guided me clearly on the correct path to my husband's heart who is fond of good food and especially his Mom's food.

Bissi Bele Bhaath is an all time favourite at my place and my husband call's it 'concrete food' as it sits in the stomach and makes you feel heavy and drowsy. I normally make it on weekend for lunch so that after eating  we can have a sound sleep. Avalakki Bissi Bele Bhaath or Bissi Bele Huli Avalakki, is a simpler and easily digestible version of Bissi Bele Bhaath and it translates to Hot Dal/Sāmbhar With Beaten Rice. This preparation makes use of beaten Rice (Poha) and Yellow Moong dal, both of which are easy to digest and quick to cook. My MIL had made this preparation for all of us during one of our  recent visits and every one had relished it. I asked her that time, how she had made it, but forgot to pen it down.

Last month, I suddenly remembered this preparation and wanted to try it, so I called my MIL but she was unavailable. Then I called up my elder co-sister R and asked her if she knew how to make it, and I was disappointed with her 'No'. I was almost ready to give up and half heartedly called  up my younger co-sister P, she brought an instant smile on my face by saying a 'Yes' and gave me the recipe. I tried the recipe that day itself and it was a huge hit in the family, so I decided to make a more healthier version and tweaked the recipe a little and to my delight it was liked even more by the two of them. The kid happily took it in his lunch box and finished it too. Tomorrow is P's birthday, so I thought it's an apt time to post this recipe.  Can't thank you enough dear 'P'  for this excellent recipe.

It’s a one pot meal and can be made very quickly.

Avalakki Bissi Bele Bhaath Preparation Time:20mins Cooking Time:20-25mins Soaking time:15mins Serves:4 Ingredients 4 hands full beaten rice/ Poha, thick variety ( I used the red version to make it more healthy) 3/4-1 measuring cup roasted Yellow Moong Dal 1small carrot cubed 1/2cup peas 1medium potato cubed 6-7 French beans cut into 1cm pieces 5-6tbsp Sāmbhar Masala 1/2tsp red chilli pwd 1/2tsp turmeric pwd 2tsp coriander pwd 3/4-1tsp cinnamon pwd about 6-7 cups water coriander stems chopped about 1-1/2tbsp tamarind paste salt to taste For tempering 2-3tbsp oil 1tsp mustard seeds 2-3 dry red chillies 2sprigs curry leaves 1/2chopped onion small hand full of peanuts 1/4tsp good quality asafoetida (heeng) Method Wash the poha 4-5 times in water and keep it aside for 15mins to soak properly. The red poha absorbs a lot of water and needs more time for soaking than the regular white poha. Dry roast the lentils till a nice aroma is smelt. Add 3cups water to the lentils and bring it to a boil. Simmer and cook till half done. Add all the vegetables and coriander stems now. Cook covered till the vegetables are done and the lentils cooked. Add 3more cups of water and add Sāmbhar masala, red chilli-turmeric-coriander-cinnamon powders. Add the soaked Poha and salt to taste. The red poha needs more spices than the regular poha, so adjust your spices accordingly. Mix properly and cook covered for 10 more minutes. If you feel that the consistency of the bhaath is too thick, add more water. Pour the tempering and mix. Serve hot with curds or raita and some potato wafers to go along. For Tempering Heat oil and add the mustard, once it splutters add the peanuts and red chillies, fry. Now add the onions and sauté. Tip in the heeng and curry leaves and pour it over the bhath.

Sending this to Rasi's I'm Star Event 




Note-
One can add their choice of vegetables to this bhaath.
Cinnamon and heeng are a must as they add a good flavour to the preparation.
One can completely replace all vegetables and use only one vegetable in more quantity and make this preparation.
Adding onions is optional.
The quantity of water provided here can vary based on the quality of beaten rice used. So be observant and follow your instincts while adding water.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Cracked Wheat Tomato Bhath

          At home, everyone likes tomato rice or tomato bhath or briyani. As usual I always try to replace rice wherever possible with cracked wheat or quinoa, at the same time not compromising much on the taste. The tomato bhath with cracked wheat turned out to be a healthy one pot meal and tasted very good. I added some baby lima beans for protein and served it with a raitha..

Need To Have

• Cracked Wheat - 2 + 1/2 cups
• Baby Lima Beans - 1 + 1/2 cup
• Tomatoes - 3 very big chopped
• Onion - 1 big chopped
• Cinnamon - 2" stick
• Cloves - 4
• Star Anise - 2
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Chopped Coriander Leaves - to garnish

To Grind

• Poppy Seeds - 1 tablespoon
• Broken Cashews - 1 tablespoon
• Javentri - a very small piece
• Garlic - 6 pods
• Chopped Ginger - 2 tablespoon
• Green Chillies - 8 or 9
• Fennel Seeds - 1 teaspoon

Method
          Soak the cracked wheat (bigger variety) for 20 mins. Make a paste of everything given under to grind. Heat oil in a pressure pan, add the cinnamon, cloves and star anise, once they pop, add the onions, saute till transparent, then add the paste, again saute for a few mins till the raw smell goes away. Now, add the tomatoes, saute till they turn mushy, add the lima beans, turmeric powder, curry leaves and mix well. Finally, add the cracked wheat and 4 + 1/2 cups of water, cook for one whistle, reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 mins and switch off. Garnish it with coriander leaves and serve with some raitha.
Sending it to Srav's Cooking Concepts for the Vegan Diet - Only Pant Based event,
                to Taste Of Pearl City for the Healthy Morsels - Pregnancy event,
                to Food Corner for the Midweek Fiesta and
                to Zesty South Indian Kitchen for the Hearth And Soul Blog Hop.

Note
Can use peas instead of lima beans. If you don't have javentri, leave it and add 2 cardamoms while making the paste, but of course javitri has a very nice flavor.
Use chillies more or less depending on your spice level.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad