Baked Stuffed Potatoes

Serve these potatoes as the main dish or as yummy starter. They can be loaded with number of tasty toppings & kids just love them :)

Ingredients
6 med. potatoes
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup milk
1 - 2 green chillies chopped
Salt & pepper, to taste
Fresh or dried parsley
Chilli flakes
1 cup cut salad (tomato, cucumber, shredded cabbage & carrot)
1/2 tsp vinegar
1/2 cup fresh coriander & mint leaves

Method
Preheat oven at 200 C.
Boil & peel potatoes. (Alternately you can bake potatoes instead of boiling).
Cut in half and scoop out pulp with a spoon, carefully reserving shells.
In food processor; combine potato pulp with low fat cottage cheese, milk, green chillies, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
Spoon mixture into shells.
Sprinkle with chilli flakes & parsley.
Now rub little olive oil around potatoes & place them in a baking dish.
Bake for 10 minutes & then turn them over & bake again for 10 minutes.
Cool slightly & add cut salad, vinegar, pinch of salt & little chilli flakes.
Toss & garnish with fresh coriander & mint leaves.
Serve immediately.

Tips
The stuffing can be used as spread on sandwiches or frankie.
You can use different stuffing, like -

* Creamed Spinach- Cook 2 chopped onion in butter. Add 2 tablespoons flour; cook 2 minutes. Add 2 cup spinach (squeezed dry), 1 cup cream + milk and some nutmeg; cook 5 minutes. Season with salt. Spoon onto baked potatoes and top with Parmesan.

* Chilli Cheese Top-baked potatoes with warm chilli, shredded cheddar and sour cream.

* Paprika Butter-Mash 1 tbsp soft butter with salt and 2 tsp each paprika and ground caraway. Spoon onto baked potatoes and mash into the flesh.

Honey Chilli Veggies

Ok so few days back I got a msg on whatsapp from Shruti (my lovely bhabhi), she was making Honey Chilli Cauliflower & was facing some problem with the recipe. We discussed it but in the end it turned out good without doing anything different from what she was already doing. But that recipe gave me an idea (it's not my copyright idea though) to make Honey Chilli Veggies without deep frying, & believe me it was a fantastic idea, everyone loved it  :D

Ingredients
8-10 Baby Corns cut lengthwise
1 carrot diced
4-5 French beans cut lengthwise
1 ½ cups Broccoli cut into small florets
1 cup mixed bell pepper cubed
1/2 cup spring onion
1/2 tsp red chillies flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1 ½ tbsp vinegar
1 tsp soya sauce
2 ½ tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tsp chilli sauce
3-4 tbsp honey
3 tbsp corn flour
1 seasoning cube
1 tsp Roasted sesame

Method
First dissolve corn flour in ½ cup water. Add seasoning cube to it and keep aside.
Now take a wok & put oil, carrots, broccoli, baby corns, onion & French beans into it. Cover for 2 minutes.
Now add salt, pepper, tomato sauce, vinegar, soya sauce, chilli sauce & honey to the mixture and mix well.  Sauté for a minute.
Next add bell peppers & dissolved corn flour to the mixture and mix well. Sauté till the vegetables become tender & the sauce completely coats the veggies.
Sprinkle roasted sesame seeds.
Serve this absolutely delicious & tempting recipe with noodles or rice. You can enjoy it as a side dish too.

Tips
You can add Tofu or paneer & other vegetables like asparagus & Pak Choi to this.

Strawberry Cheese Cake

Strawberry!!!! The fruit is widely appreciated for its characteristic aroma, bright red colour, juicy texture, & sweetness.....But tell you the truth...I really don't enjoy it just like that....but I love it in my fruit salads, fruit punch, lemonade or in cheese cakes....so cheese cake it is today :)

Ingredients
For Biscuit Crust
10 to 12 Marie Biscuits
1 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp sugar powder
4 tsp melted butter

For Cheese Cake
3/4 cup cream cheese OR
{3/4 cup fresh cottage cheese + 1 tsp butter + 3/4 cup sugar (according to taste) + 1 tsp vanilla}
1 cup crumbled paneer (preferably homemade)
1 cup thick yogurt tied in muslin cloth for 20 minutes to let the excess water drained out (important to remove excess water)
1/2 cup fresh cream
3/4 cup sugar (according to taste)

For Strawberry Sauce
3/4 cup strawberry purée
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp sugar (according to taste)
1 tsp corn flour

For Garnish
Strawberry slices & whipped cream

Method
For Biscuit Crust
Grind the biscuits till coarse. Add cocoa powder, sugar & melted butter &
mix gently. The mixture will resemble bread crumbs.
Grease individual bowls with little butter.
Spread the biscuit mix evenly & gently level the surface using back of spoon.
Refrigerate the bowls for about 30 minutes.

For Cheese Cake
Take a chilled bowl & whisker, & place it on bed of ice .
Pour fresh cream & half of sugar & whisk well till it is thicker. Do not over beat or it will end up in buttery stuff. Keep aside.
To make cheese layer, mix crumbled paneer, cream cheese, rest of the sugar & mix well.
Add the drained yogurt & whisk well till smooth texture is obtained.
Add the cream to the cheese mixture & gently fold everything.
Taste it and if needed add some more sugar.
Now spread this mixture on the top of biscuit layer & even it.
Refrigerate it for 3 hours (might need more time to set).

For Strawberry Sauce
Take strawberry puree & water in a saucepan & heat on a medium flame.
Add sugar & mix it.
Add corn flour & mix it so there are no lumps.
Let it boil for 8-10 minutes or till sauce thickens.
Let it cool completely & it will thicken more as it cools down.
Pour this over cheese layer & refrigerate back for 6-8 hours.
Decorate with sliced strawberries before serving.

Tips
* I used Marie Biscuits with orange flavour (it gave a very nice taste) for the base layer, you can use any digestive biscuits.

* You can use Blueberries or Mango in place of Strawberries.
* The quantity of each layer is purely your choice. If you like the sauce more, than top it up more.
* If using store brought cream cheese then do taste it as it might be little salty & you might want to add more sugar.
* You can add 2 tsp of strawberry purée to cheese layer to give it a light pink colour.
* If you don’t like seeds or you want smooth strawberry sauce then strain puree with fine strainer.
* Let the sauce cool completely before adding to cheesecake.
* Without setting the cheese layer don’t pour the strawberry sauce, it will get blended with the cheese layer.
* Ideally a cheesecake needs 2-3 hours of refrigeration. But this cake needed 6 hours or so. This is because here we are not using any gelatine.
* Also if you wish you can add in 1/2 tsp of china grass with 2 tsp of water for the 3rd strawberry purée layer.
* Also if you don't want to wait that long, set your cheese cake in individual cups, this way it is easy to serve too.
* To make a perfect cheese layer you can use agar agar or gelatine & follow the process below.
{In a pan add water & allow it to boil, keep a small heat resistant cup containing china grass (agar agar) in water.
Allow it to boil until you see a clear liquid when the china grass is dissolved completely.
Now add the china grass water mixture to the cream mixture, give a quick stir.
Fill it up immediately as a second layer, reserving little space at the top. Chill it for 4 to 5 hrs or even overnight for best results.
Then add the remaining strawberry puree as a third layer & refrigerate again. Serve chilled}.

MOST IMPORTANT - In above recipe there is no Gelatine or China Grass, so if you are setting the cheese cake in individual bowls you can use low fat cream. But instead if you are making full cake & want to serve after slicing, I would recommend you to use heavy cream. Also yogurt used should be very thick.

Variation

This is same cheesecake, only the strawberry purée is swirled here instead of pouring as a layer.
For swirling-
* Pour little purée on the cheese layer and make swirls with the help of back of a spoon or a blunt knife.
* Do take care of not touching the biscuit layer otherwise you will have a mixture of cheese cake instead of layers. (it won't taste bad though :D)
* Let it set for few hrs before cutting
* Remember, Individual cups or bowls will always look better.

Chocolate Truffle With a Nutty Heart

These cute, irresistible chocolate covered treats hardly need a recipe. A bite into chocolate-flavored coating reveals a rich, moist, cakey interior. These mini desserts are easy to make with a little practice. So enjoy making them & eating on Chocolate Day :)

Ingredients
For Cake Balls
4 cups of chocolate cake crumbs

3/4 cup of prepared frosting (refer to Tips)

Sprinklers for decoration

For Ganache

1/2 tsp butter
1 tbsp heavy cream
4 tbsp chopped dark chocolate

For Nutty Heart
1/2 cup unsalted mixed nuts (hazel nuts, almonds, pistachio)

Method
For Ganache
Pour the heavy cream into a small saucepan.
Heat the cream over medium-high heat, & bring it just to a boil.
Pour the hot cream over the chopped dark chocolate. Add butter.
Gently whisk the mixture together until it is smooth & shiny.

For Cake Balls
Mix cake crumbs & frosting & work into a dough. Keep aside.

How to Proceed
It's time to assemble the truffles. Take a 1-inch ball of cake mixture and press a chocolate nut into the center.
Roll it between your palms to make it round, and then replace it on the baking sheet.
Repeat until all of the truffles are assembled.
Refrigerate until the cake truffles are firm enough to dip, about 30 minutes.
Using dipping tools or two forks, dip a cake ball into the ganache, & once it is fully coated, replace it on the baking sheet. Repeat until all of the truffles are dipped.
Decorate with sprinklers while the balls are still wet.
Place them in paper cups after they are dried & store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Tips
*Adding of frosting in cake depends upon how moist is your cake. If cake is already too moist then use less frosting as the dough should not be too soggy or it will not make good balls.
*If ganache starts hardening then use double boiler method to melt it.
*You can use any flavour cake, I used Chocolate & Coffee flavour cake.
*You can skip the nut part all together & just make a cake ball truffle.
*Great way to use up your left over cakes.
*Work in small batches when dipping, keeping the rest in the freezer.
*Use toothpicks, a fork or a skewer to manipulate the balls when dipping. 

Variation

Orange Chocolate Ganache 

This is the ganache I used to make orange flavour truffles. You can easily use it for anything you want :)

Ingredients 

80 gm semi-sweet chocolate (or bitter sweet chocolate)

3 1/2 tbsp heavy cream

1 tbsp orange zest (finely ground, about one whole orange)

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp orange juice

Method

Zest orange & add to heavy cream and place it into the sauce pan.

Heat the cream in a sauce pan over medium heat stirring constantly until it comes to a boil. take off heat & sieve it to remove zest.

Add hot cream to chocolate in a medium bowl, stirring until all chocolate has melted, add butter at once, and stir until melted.

Add orange juice & mix well.

Chill until thickened to spread on cakes, brownies or for dipping your truffles.

Tips

* If you feel ganache will be thin if juice is added then you can avoid the juice.

* Add a pinch of cinnamon to get a different flavour.

Rose Barfi

Today is Rose Day so let’s make something with rose :). This eye-appealing sweet is Tarla Aunty's recipe with few additions from my side. Just relish this sweet which is also rich in protein and calcium.

Ingredients
3/4 cup paneer (cottage cheese)
3 tbsp crumbled mava (khoya)
2 1/2 tbsp powdered sugar
a few drops of rose essence
2 tsp roohafza (or any rose syrup)
2 to 3 drops of red colour
2 tbsp chopped pistachio
1/4 tsp ghee for greasing

Method
Mix all the ingredients except the red colour in a bowl, knead it till the mixture becomes smooth.
Divide this mixture into 2 equal portions. Add red colour to one portion and mix well. Keep aside.
Spread the white mixture on a greased thali and keep aside.
Spread the remaining pink coloured mixture over the white coloured mixture.
Spread chopped pistachio.
Refrigerate for at least an hour & cut into 8 pieces.

Tips
* Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
* You can roll them too by placing pink layer on white & then rolling then carefully. Refrigerate and cut into rolls.
* Variation: Almond Pista Rolls
In the above recipe, substitute rose essence for almond (badam) essence. Follow step 1, then divide the mixture into 8 equal portions.
Shape them into cylinders and roll them in 2 tbsp of finely chopped pistachios.