“Fussing over food was important. It gave a shape to the day: breakfast, lunch, dinner; beginning, middle, end.” Robert Hellenga
Fruits with Cream & Granola Parfaits … couldn’t be a better way to begin the morning. All this while I thought granola was just one of the best ways to start the day, so I made that a lot. It was simple. Granola + Milk + fruit = done! Then along came cream, an idea crossed my mind and breakfast got a makeover, a fun and colourful one at that. The parfait is showing up as dessert at home too now, made with just cream, no dahi! Folk who know me, know of my love for dairy. Everything and anything dairy hits a home run for me, and that speaks pretty much for everyone at home.The neat little tetrapacks of Mother Dairy cream have changed the way I work in the kitchen, cooked and baked. The ease, the taste, the quality stepped up what I do in the kitchen in exciting ways. I am sure if you are like me, and love to cook and bake, your pantry’ll never be without this handy staple. It literally finds its way into everything I make, especially sweet!So when Mother Dairy Creams asked if I’d like to take do a few recipes for #CreamOfAllFood and taking over their Instagram handle for a week, I could hardly say no. There was nothing I’d have liked to do better! Mother Dairy products have been a part of my growing up years, bringing up the kids, my kitchen, my culinary life. This was just going to be an extension of what I enjoy doing most – experimenting in the kitchen.A ton of ideas tumbled out of my head. I settled for this one first – Fruits with Cream & Granola Parfaits because I love the idea of layered desserts, cakes etc. Because the family had just returned from NYC and one of them described a delicious parfait they had for breakfast there. Because I had a sackful of granola at home that someone had sent as a gift. Because I love fruit in food, and lastly, I love playing with my food recipes…
One thing led to another. Some twitter conversations later, before I knew it, I was baking granola for the parfaits. I have always been charmed by doing things from scratch, granola being one of them. I find it difficult to understand why you wouldn’t bake something so simple at home? Please try baking some once, and you’ll do it over and over again. It makes life simple, you feel great, the kids get addicted to it, you can use it for energy bars, for breakfast…and for dessert too. Throw some into smoothies, scatter it over fruit salad or ice cream, or just munch on some as a snack. It is so customisable too. That done, a nice big batch smiled at me as I thought of putting the parfait together. It’s the simplest thing to do. As things go, I love the edge of subtle indulgence these Fruits with Cream & Granola Parfaits offer. There is little guilt for two reasons. No, make that three! Maybe more!!Cream is good fat. The granola is 100% wholegrain, glutenfree and home made. Last but not the least,the parfait has a generous portion of seasonal fresh fruit in there. And so many more reasons to enjoy this. Dahi/yogurt, honey, chia seeds … thing good gut bacteria and protein, think natural sweetener, think superfoods that are also called seeds of life. Above all, think S I M P L E !!So wait no further. I played out the recipe on Instastories the Mother Dairy Instagram handle that I’m taking over this week. This was #InstaCookingClass #1. Catch me there, or on the Mother Dairy FaceBook page later this week . Love to hear if you liked it {or not}, what recipes you might like to see in future, and what you’d like to make with the #CreamOfAllFood!
Tip: Use a piping bag or ziploc to pipe in the cream mix to make it neat.
Tip: Use any seasonal fruit you enjoy eg Banana Strawberry Parfait, Black Forest Parfait, Banoffee Parfait.
Tip: Great idea to make a parfait bar and get kids to 'build their own' colourful parfaits
Tip: Use more cream, less yogurt and turn this into a dessert with the cream.mix, fruit & nuts!!
Easiest Homemade Granola
Preheat the oven to 160C. Line a large baking dish with parchment.
Stir together all the dry ingredients EXCEPT the dried cranberries and chocolate chips in a large bowl. {Tip: Use the mixer bowl from The Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer as it is convenient to use and very big}.
Whisk the honey into the olive oil.
Pour the wet mix over the dry mix, and give it all a good stir.
Turn it into the prepared pan, press down lightly, and bake for approximately 45 minutes until light golden brown. Stir 2-3 times while baking.
Once baked, stir in the dried cranberries while still hot, and chocolate chips once cool.
“It didn’t matter how big our house was; it mattered that there was love in it.”
Peter Buffett
Gingerbread Garam Masala House – some things in life take long, some miss the date, yet any project made with love is better late than never. I had plans to make a Gingerbread House over Christmas. It was something I have longed to make again for along time. With travel and other commitments it never happened. Until now….In Bangalore in November I chanced upon a billboard from Casa Grande, and it talked about a dream house. An acquaintance had booked one of those and was quite thrilled. Talking to her about her dream home, for some reasonthis bakers mind connected to a gingerbread house, a dream I had nurtured for long, something I longed to bake again. That set me thinking about how my dream home might be.The elements danced in my head, plans to bake moving forward. First the foundation, or oops main flavours! A recent trip into Old Delhi meant a shifting of gears from ginger to garam masala in flavouring. Such is the power of inspiration. My dream home would have garam masala aromas wafting through it. I often bake my Christmas cake with garam masala, and I can tell you that it is wonderful sweet & warm!Hence I set to work at my first free moment. Can I tell you that building a gingerbread house is a lofty project, needs a couple of hands to help, is an arduous task, yet you fall in love with it once it’s made? Yes, all that and more.
Drawing the same parallel, so is the home you choose to live in. Make it a good choice. It’s a lofty order to build it together like this Gingerbread Garam Masala House, so it’s best left to safe hands. A good company likeCasa Grande a Chennaibasedrealestateenterprisewhich isdriven by a strong belief in buildingaspirations and fulfillingthem. It designs and develops quality livings spaces and operates in niche residential segments like luxury villas and apartments in Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Cochin.Well they take care of all the hard work, quality work, delivering on time all part of the deal, leaving me to take care of my edible dreams. And baking this dream home wasn’t easy by any standard. You need a firm cookie dough to keep it all together, like a good foundation does a dream home. I adapted an earlier gingerbread recipe, made it a 100% wholegrain and smelling sweetly of garam masala. Wasn’t sure my house would stand but here we are. Looks like it came together.It has all the elements I’d like in my dream home. A rustic look, simple lines, sloping roofs, loads of windows that would let in light, and a ton of greenery. The roof is covered with flower cutouts. A few snowflakes too just because it was just Christmas, and just because I love how beautiful they look. And oh yes, how could I forget to mention the beautiful aromas of garam masala cookies wafting through my kitchen.I had real fun putting this together with the daughter. You do need more hands than one to bring together this sweet little home. What would your dream home be like?
The Garam Masala Gingerbread House is my wholegrain take on traditional Scandinavian Gingerbread House. Sweet, spicy and warm and fun to build, this little dream house is well worth the time and effort!
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Total Time 35 minutesminutes
Servings 6people
Ingredients
Garam Masala Biscuit dough
115gunsalted butterchilled, cubed
150gjaggery powdered
1tbspcinnamon powder
1 1/2tbspgaram masala powder
1tspbaking soda
1/4-1/2cupboiling water
350gwhole wheat flour
Royal icing
1/2egg white
1cuppowdered sugar
Few drops almond extract
1/2tspwhite vinegar
Sugar glue
1cupwhite crystal sugar
Instructions
Garam Masala Biscuit dough
In the bowl of the food processor, process the chilled butter and jaggery for 1-2 minutes on high speed until you get a breadcrumb like mix
Add the cinnamon powder and garam masala. Stir the baking soda into a 1/4 cup of boiling water Mix the baking soda with the boiling water and add to the dough along with the flour. Mix to make a stiff dough. If necessary add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Chill 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 375’F (190’C). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the cookie dough feels firm.
Cut patterns for the house, making patterns for the roof, front walls, gabled walls, chimney and door out of cardboard.
Roll the dough out on a large, ungreased baking sheet and place the patterns on the dough. Mark off the various pieces with a knife, but leave the pieces in place. {I rolled out the dough on a floured bench, roughly 1/8 inch thick, cut required shapes and transferred these to the baking sheet. Any scraps I saved and rerolled at the end.}
After baking, again place the pattern on top of the gingerbread and trim the shapes, cutting the edges with a straight-edged knife. Leave to cool on the baking sheet.
Royal icing
Beat all ingredients until smooth, adding the powdered sugar gradually to get the desired consistency. Pipe on pieces and allow to dry before assembling. If you aren’t using it all at once you can keep it in a small bowl, loosely covered with a damp towel for a few hours until ready to use. You may have to beat it slightly to get it an even consistency if the top sets up a bit. Piped on the house, this will set up hard over time.
Sugar glue
Place in a heavy bottom saucepan and simmer over low heat just until the sugar dissolves. Take off heat. Dredge or brush the edges of the pieces to glue them together. If the syrup crystallizes, remake it.
Note: Please be very careful while working with hot sugar syrup as it can burn the skin.
“Wine is just a conversation waiting to happen.”
Jessica Altieri
Smoky Baked Mushroom Cheese Dip is a definite crowd pleaser, and a great addition to the holiday table. Smoky Gouda, wine simmered mushrooms, garlic and fresh thyme make one of the best cheesy dips ever. Baked briefly under a hot grill until the cheese melts into gooey goodnes. Serve immediately with simple crusty artisan bread to soak up the wine juices and deliciously flavoured cheese.Think of cooking with wine and the mind often wanders into the sweet tooth territory. As much as I love working with wine in bakes and desserts, my taste buds are definitely savoury. Begin to explore savoury options with wine and suddenly new avenues open up. The list seems endless. Here’s one super quick, simple and absolutely delicious recipe to stir up with wine. I used a really nice crisp Sauvignon Blanc from Big Banyan Wines, and baked a rustic garlic and thyme bread to serve with it. You can pretty much use a store bought crusty artisan bread. They are great to mop up the juices with!The mushrooms and bell pepper browned in clarified butter, with a dash of Worcestershire sauce simmered in wine add earthy rustic flavour to the dish. With generous smoky cheese added to it, you can expect magic to happen. Make sure you use quality ingredients including a good quality wine. That is the secret of any good recipe!To begin with, the Sauvignon Blanc itself is really nice, one of the better Indian white wines I have to say. Crisp, delicately flavoured and very fresh! The whiff of green bell pepper undertones complimented the Smoky Baked Mushroom Cheese Dip really nicely. The dip is like a fondue; quite popular during winter. Try and bake it in a cast iron pan since the pan retains heat for longer, keeping the cheese nice and gooey. The other good thing about cast iron pans is that they can be popped back into the oven to reheat if the dip gets cold.In the unlikely event that you have some Smoky Baked Mushroom Cheese Dip leftovers, make a grilled panini sandwich with it, layering it with fillings you enjoy. Then sit back and enjoy the deep moorish flavours that tease the palate. It’s really that addictive, like a pizza in a sandwich!The wine would work well in a creamy pasta sauce, also as a marinade for chicken. Another great option is to make a Queso Fundido using wine instead of vodka. Then a step further a Queso Flameado, a dish of hot melted cheese and spicy chorizo that is often served flambé. Often compared to cheese fondue, this is a party dish and a popular appetizer.
Smoky Gouda, wine simmered mushrooms, garlic and fresh thyme make one of the best cheesy dips ever. Baked briefly under a hot grill until the cheese melts into gooey goodness, serve immeditaley with home baked bread or a crusty bread to soak up the wine juices and deliciously flavoured cheese.
Course Appetiser, Snack
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Total Time 25 minutesminutes
Servings 3people
Ingredients
1tbspclarified butter/ghee
1tbspextra virgin olive oil
2clovesgarlicchopped
1tspfresh thyme leaves {or dried}
100gbutton mushroomssliced
1/2red bell pepperfinely chopped
1tspworcestershire sauce
2sprigs of fresh thyme {plus extra for garnish}
1/2cupBig Banyan Wines Sauvignon Blanc
250gsmoked Gouda cheese
100gmozzarella
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
Crusty bread
Instructions
Preheat the oven, top element only to 180C.
In a heavy bottomed pan, melt the clarified butter with olive oil. Add the chopped garlic and thyme. Saute until fragrant. Add the mushrooms and finely chopped bell peppers. Saute until the mushrooms are brown and add a splash of Worcestershire sauce.
Add the wine and sprigs of fresh thyme. Increase the heat and allow the wine to reduce by half. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Now add the grated cheese and stir to allow it to melt slightly, allowing the wine and cheese to somewhat combine.
Once done, transfer into a cast iron pan and place in oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is nice and bubbly.
Gently remove from oven, and serve immediately with crusty bread and Sauvignon Blanc from Big Banyan Wines.
“If chocolate is the answer, the question is irrelevant.”
Unknown
Wholegrain Chocolate Buckwheat Sablés … dark chocolate, a mix of wholegrain flours, a little all purpose too, brown sugar, sea salt, of course butter. All these come together to make an eggless cookie, the indulgent sablé, a quintessential round French shortbread cookie. Crisp, deeply chocolate, buttery, wholegrain, eggless, Wholegrain Chocolate Buckwheat Sablés are the yummiest cookies ever! Even better since the recipe is eggless. The only sablés I’ve tried before were Dorie Greenspans famous World Peace Cookies, ones that I loved. She’s since reinvented them into an even more delicious version that I just discovered.
With wholewheat and buckwheat in this buttery chocolaty shortbread, I didn’t expect things to go so well. Can safely say these are my best chocolate shortbread cookies to date, best eggless cookies too! They’re inspired and adapted from Chocolate Sables @ The Boy Who Bakes, and HE is so good in everything he bakes! These are great for the festive cookie platter, fab for hanging off the tree and make a great gift too.I did a batch for Diwali earlier, and now a cookie cutout one for Christmas. With hand made wreaths using the perennial local ‘Mor Pankhi’, a genus of coniferoustrees, it was a lot of fun. Made the wreaths for the Teabox Christmas shoot earlier in November, which was a fun & creative shoot. Here’s a peak of a couple I shot on the side, and you can see more on their website.You could always add some tea leaves into the cookies to make this a chocolate tea shortbread. Now that’s an idea I might work on. Until then, here are Wholegrain Chocolate Buckwheat Sablés, eggless cookies loaded with chocolate, and almost wholegrain, with the goodness of buckwheat {kuttu ka aata}. Great comfort food, great for the holidays.
Crisp, deeply chocolate, buttery, wholegrain, eggless, Wholegrain Chocolate Buckwheat Sablés are the yummiest cookies ever! Adapted from The Boy Who Bakes.
Course Snack
Cuisine French
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Total Time 25 minutesminutes
Servings 2dozen
Ingredients
Dry mix
50gwholewheat flour {aata}
50gbuckwheat flour
50gplain flour
1/2tspbaking soda
1/4black truffle sea salt {or sea salt}
Wet mix
115gunsalted butter, room temp
1tspvanilla extract
100gbrown sugar
125g52% dark chocolateground {or finely chopped}
Instructions
Dry Mix
Stir dry ingredients in a bowl to mix. Reserve.
Wet Mix
Place butter, brown sugar and vanilla in bowl of stand mixer with paddle attachment. Whisk on medium speed for 3-4 minutes until smooth.
Add the dry mix and ground chocolate, and mix on the lowest speed just enough for the dough to come together.{You can do this by hand to play safe}. Don’t over-mix else the cookies will become hard.
Bring the dough together, either make a cylinder like roll, cling-wrap and chill for a couple of hours.
Alternatively, you could always use the dough for cut out cookies.
“You don’t have to eat less, You just have to eat right.” Unknown
Green Goddess Apple Cucumber Coconut Water Smoothie, quite nice actually! Packed with nutrition too. You might have heard about Spirulina. Well if you haven’t, it is one of the most potent sources of easily digestible vegetarian protein available, a powerhouse of nutrients available in nature. It is harvested form blue green algae present in water bodies, and has been used in food for centuries.The primary challenge is making sure the water that hosts the algae is non contaminated, and this brand is certified organic, cultivated in an environment free from pollution, ground water contamination, pesticides and herbicides.I used Spirulina powder for the first time with much apprehension. Not because I doubted the source or the nutritional value, but because I had been warned a plenty that it was an acquired taste. Since this dark green powder, almost jade like in colour, is harvested from algae from water, the first impression is of a very fishy, concentrated seaweed like aroma. Anything fishy doesn’t work with me, you can promise me it’s a 100% vegetarian never mind. The challenge is to use this superfood in ways that tease the palette to enjoy it everyday in a form that is easy and fun.
The positives are plenty, enough to make me reach out for a daily health boost. Spirulina is largely made up of protein and essential amino acids, and is typically recommended to vegetarians due to its high natural iron content. This unassuming supplement is a natural source of essential phytonutrients, omega 6 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, said to be the most effective and safest way to compensate for your incomplete daily dietary intake. It’s classified as the most nutrient dense food on the planet. Algae here I come!!
Time to make each drink a SuperDrink. Adding Spirulina is a nice way to include a highly nutrient rich Superfood in our daily diets which with only minimal effort. Spirulina is said to work towards improving immunity levels, energy levels and boosting metabolism. With hectic and busy schedules coupled with the use of chemicals in fresh produce, it’s not easy to reach our daily nutrition and protein levels. Spirulina aims to fill this gap helping you use Spirulina shakes or smoothies to renergise any time of the day.I took it on gently, very unsure of what to expect, my initial ‘meeting’ face to face with the powder not very promising. Best to keep it natural and in season, as also too consume this in raw form, or if cooked, below 70Degrees C to gain maximum advantage. Seemed quite natural to begin the morning with a nutritional boost, so I thought smoothie. Green smoothie obviously!! With winter here, there are the juiciest apples from Kinnaur lining the bazaar shelves these days. Thought I’d keep it simple. So in went cucumber, honey, some coconut water since I had some on hand. The electrolytes in coconut water as a great substitute for plain water, so why ever not. Gingerly added 1 tsp of Spirulina and braced myself. I was pleasantly surprised!! The green jade came to life in seconds, an intense smooothie that looked like it meant business. A teeny taste later, and I threw in another teaspoon of Spirulina. No bad offsetting flavour, quite pleasant, naturally sweet too. Who would have thought?Spurred on, I experimented a little more. This Currypatta Buttermilk Lassi below is now a daily routine!
Spirulina added in your daily diet gives you a number of benefits:
Working out?? Grab it! It Increases Muscle Strength and Endurance
It is a powerhouse of easily digestible protein
It is a natural detoxifier
It’s rich in vitamins, antioxidants and other essential daily nutrients
It’s filled with calcium, phosphorus and magnesium content found in milk
It keeps your heart healthy
It promotes Liver health
Parrys Organic Spirulina is NOT a drug, but a 100% vegetarian and safe nutritional supplement also available in a tablet form for your convenience.
Happy with the success, I marched on to try yet another savoury version. It turned out quite pretty. Quite delicious as well! Here take a look. A Beetroot Buttermilk Spirulina Lassi as delicious as it was pretty! The recipe is simple. blend the following until smooth. 1 medium beetroot, microwaved for 3 minutes, or boiled, cooled, grated + 2 cloves garlic, grated + 250ml cultured buttermilk +1/2 tsp black rock salt + 1tsp roasted cumin powder + 2tsp spirulina.
Green Goddess Apple Cucumber Coconut Water Smoothie
The Green Goddess Apple Cucumber Coconut Water Smoothie comes together in seconds, an intense drink that means business. Quite pleasant; naturally sweet too!
Course Drinks
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Total Time 5 minutesminutes
Servings 2people
Ingredients
1applecored, diced
1cucumberchopped
200mlcoconut waterchilled
2-3tspshoney
2tspSpirulina
Instructions
Place all ingredients in blender and whiz until smooth.
Taste and adjust sweetness if required. Serve immediately.
“In fine, the truffle is the very diamond of gastronomy.” Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
Smoked Eggplant Walnut Truffle Dip … earthy, rustic, nutty, slightly tangy, creamy, smoky delicious. Some things come together with small beginnings, and for strange reasons. This dip was no different and found it’s origins in a wizened old forgotten pomegranate that I discovered while cleaning out the fridge. Also popped out a bowl that held an eggplant I had roasted 2 days ago, a small carton of Greek yogurt, and the plan was made.
It was going to be a Smoked Eggplant Walnut Truffle Dip which would use up all the goodness that lay forgotten in the fridge. AND a chance to use some fabulous Black Truffle Sea Salt from Olive Tree Trading, a special product that really shines when used. It might be an expensive product, but a little goes a long way. On pasta, on toast, over dips, on artisan bread, in pasta sauce, over popcorn, on salads; really steps up the flavours!
With it of course some really really good quality extra virgin olive oil from the same company, a product that speaks for itself. As always, a dish is only as good as it’s ingredients and this Smoked Eggplant Walnut Truffle Dip was just that. You could always use sea salt but a black truffle sea salt is a noticeably charming addition, quite different. The rest of this Persian inspired dip has humble origins, almost staple pantry ingredients. How can you go wrong with eggplant {or baingan as locally called}, walnuts, garlic, yogurt and olive oil? Not possible right?
And the good thing is that if you blend it smooth, picky eaters can’t figure out what’s in this pâté like dip. It’s a win win; a delicious one at that too. Serve with wholegrain crackers, crudites etc. Great as a sandwich spread, with crusty wholegrain bread, etc.
A simple recipe with humble origins, this Smoked Eggplant Walnut Truffle Dip is a great addition to the party table. Serve with wholegrain crackers, crudites etc. Great as a sandwich spread, with rustic wholegrain bread, etc.
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine Middle Eastern
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 50 minutesminutes
Servings 3minutes
Ingredients
1medium eggplant
6clovesgarlicunpeeled
1/2cupevoo
2clovesgarlc
Sea salt
1/4cupwalnuts
2tbspGreek yogurt
Juice of 1 lime
1/2tspBlack truffle sea salt
Instructions
Wash and pat dry the eggplant. Make 4-6 slits around and tuck in unpeeled garlic cloves.
Roast over a low open gas flame, or in oven until charred all over and soft.
Place in a bowl covered, until cool enough to handle. gently peel the charred skin off, squeeze out the garlic from pods. {This can be done a couple of days in advance and refrigerated}.
Place all ingredients in bowl of processor or blender and process until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Transfer to a bowl, drizzle generously with good quality extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle over some black truffle salt, garnish with pomegranate pearls. Serve with wholegrain crackers, crudites etc. Great as a sandwich spread, with rustic wholegrain bread, etc.
