“A sauce…..adds something, really two things: a taste as well as the opportunity to think about how the thing was made.”
Raymond Sokolov
Spicy Sweet Plum Sauce
Plums ‘n’ Cherries…the fruit of summer!
Plum, Cherry & Black-cherry Conserve Ice-cream
Fresh fruit in food is my kind of thing. Summer brings with it delightful juicy fruit from the hills of Jammu & Kashmir, (Gurgaon & Delhi lie in the plains of North India where the weather these days is HOT, HOT, HOT), & one just cant seem to get enough of these delicious fruit. Have to limit the amount of sweet in everyday food, but the temptation is far too great. Bought a small lot of juicy tart plums the other day. We ate a few & the rest were in for a sauce!
Put them on to simmer in a pan, & kept tossing coins…sweet sauce, sour sauce, sweet sauce or sour sauce. Reached a point of decision making, & went for sweet! Made this from the top of my head…kept throwing in things & tasting…ended up with a nice, full dessert plum sauce. Reduce the sugar, throw in a splash of vinegar, adjust the salt & you’re set with a savoury plum sauce, good as a dipping sauce! YUM!!
More than the sauce, which was finger-licking good, with an ever-so-slight salty after-taste, it’s the colour that won me over! Rich & luscious. Kept looking at it for ages…amazingPLUMcolour!
What I did…
I simmered the plums with sugar till they got nice & soft. Then mashed them in the pan with the back of the spoon & pushed everything through a strainer to get a nice thick sauce. Then back into the pan it went…a cinnamon stick, ginger powder, cinnamon powder, dash of rock salt, some more sugar…& it was ready to roll!
Made some ‘Plum, Cherry & Black-cherry Conserve Ice-cream’ with with the sauce…was yum though a tad sweet for me & DH. I had a jar of organic black-cherry conserve that I had to use somewhere. The kids just couldn’t get enough of it. The ice-cream recipe is the same as my Mango ice-cream…skip the mangoes & pistachios, add some plum sauce & pitted black cherries; blend well. Then continue whipping ever hour, finally swirl some black cherry conserve through it & leave to set overnight. Next time will increase the cream by a cup.
Serve with fresh plums, cherries & a drizzle of sauce if you like!
Foodie blogs are buzzing with activity these days with lots of tags & events showing up to mark the appreciation of recipes tried from each others blogs. Tried and Tasted (T&T) is one such monthly event in appreciation of other blogs, hosted by Zlamushka @ Zlamushka’s Spicy Kitchen…provides an opportunity to thank fellow bloggers for sharing their recipes by re-creating them. As Zlamushka says, Starting the very first edition of T&T, Cynthia of Tastes Like Home has agreed to be the first “laboratory rat”. Cynthia’s blog is beautifully weaved with pictures of dishes mainly from her homeland – Barbados and Guyana. It rarely features actual recipes (this is because she is writing a book), but she is more than willing to share them. All you need to do is to drop her an e-mail….which is what I did back in the first week of April, & cooked these wonderful chick peas from this post HERE. In Cynthia’s words, “Channa is chick peas that’s sauteed with white onions, green onions, hot pepper, and the star of the dish – freshly ground cumin.”
There is no time-frame for the original recipe. It can be as old as my grand-mother or as fresh as a mung bean sprout….I loved these words from Zlamushka & they have stuck to me!!
Served the chick peas with some baby potatoes in a mildly spicy tomato based gravy (dumaloos), tomato-onion-mint raita & dal (lentil) parathas.
Dal (Lentil) Parathas
The dalparatha is something I make more often than a plain paratha because my dear little boy will not touch lentils of any sort…other than in 3 forms – dalparatha (coz he knows not what lies within), sprouted mung salad (coz he loves munching the crunchy sprouts & onions) & falafal! The first 2 options show up more often than the falafal, because falafal is deep fried…& me & deep fried aren’t the best of friends!
Onto the dalparatha…I make a semi dry dal with red split masoordal & yellow split mungdal (see dals in picture) in a proportion of 2 parts re to 1 part yellow. It’s a simple dal… saute some sliced onions in 1-2 tbsps of oil till brown, saute some ginger-garlic paste, add the dal + turmeric powder + salt + red chilli powder, give it a good stir. Add a little water (we don’t need a watery dal here) & cook until done. Should be semi-dry or the paratha tastes quite plain. I love eating spoonfuls of it at this stage…it’s a yummy dal like this & makes a great side dish to an Indian meal!
Now take some wholewheat flour + lots of chopped fresh coriander + chopped green chilies + some salt in a large bowl. Mix well together & then add the dal & knead to a nice firm but not too hard dough. Allow to rest 30 minutes for the flavours to mature & gluten strands to develop.
Roll out & cook both sides on a griddle till little bubbles appear. Then smear a little oil & cook both sides again. My son sometimes gets a dollop of butter if I am in a generous mood…otherwise he loves it with raita! The daughter will have the chanas with glee…she’s a more lentil type of person! Kids with opposite tastes…ho hum, so what’s new?? Serve hot…& enjoy a nice balanced meal…which TASTES LIKE HOME!
Thank you Cynthia, for this wonderful & flavourful recipe, & thank you Zlamushka, for affording a platform to showcase it on!!
“I’m ten years old. My life is half over and I don’t even know if I’m black with white stripes or white with black stripes.”
Marty the Zebra…in the film Madagascar
The Fascinating L ‘Zebra Cake…(instead of L ‘Opera Cake)
With a heavy heart I write that I have been unable to complete Mays’ Daring Bakers challenge…the first I’ve missed since I joined in Jan this year. Reason…chicken pox took over our house; then when things just about started looking up, 3 days ago, I had a minor mishap in the kitchen & severed a vein in the palm of my right hand. It’s on the mend thankfully, but didn’t leave me time for the Opera Cake that I so wanted to make for 2 reasons. Firstly, because I’ve always been fascinated by the Opera cake (even bought a square platter for it for the DB challenge), & secondly, for Barbara @ Winos & Foodies who it is was dedicated to this month.
For you Barbara…
…flowers of the Cassia Fistula tree in bloom here these days.
Am posting L ‘Zebra Cake instead which I got made a couple of days ago, guiding my daughter, who did an admirable job following instructions being shouted out by me (hysterically at times). All this while, the son who has recovered, & since lost his spots, was scootering in & out like mad!! Wonder if anyone has a Cheetah Spots cake recipe…would be more reflective of the ‘not so merry’ month that May has been!!
The chef in the making…with real world distractions!
This is one cake I’ve been dreaming of making ever since I first saw a picture on Farida’s @ AZCookBook on her top 10 pictures tag, & more recently, on a Mother’s Day post at Epicurean Escapism. I ‘ordered’ the cake made exactly as posted at Epicurean Escapism, & must say that it was the ease of instructions that led me on…resulting in a magical end result!
I’ve included pictures of part of the process because I want all of you who read this post to be tempted to try this at least once, if you haven’t already. Added bonus too; it uses no butter, & yet it tastes great!!
Zebra Cake from Epicurean Escapism
Ingredients: Eggs – 4
Sugar – 1 cup
Milk – 1 cup
Oil – 1 cup
Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
Self-raising flour – 2 cups (I used plain flour + 2 tsps of baking powder + 1/4 tsp salt)
Dark cocoa powder – 4-5 tbsps
Method:
In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar until creamy and light in colour.
Add milk and oil, and continue beating until well blended.
Add vanilla extract to the mixture. Gradually add flour and then beat until the batter is smooth and the dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
Divide the mixture into 2 equal portions. Keep one portion plain. Add cocoa powder into another and mix well. The color of the cocoa batter should be quite dark, so add more if needed.
Preheat the oven to 180C. (I lined the bottom of my 9″ Victoria sandwich tin & greased & floured the sides.)
The most important part is assembling the cake batter in a baking pan. This is what you do. Scoop 3 heaped tablespoons of plain batter (you can also use a ladle that would hold 3 tablespoons) into the middle of the baking pan. Then scoop 3 tablespoons of cocoa batter and pour it in the center on top of the plain batter.
NOTE: Do not spread the batter or tilt the pan to distribute the mixture. It will spread by itself and fill the pan gradually. Continue alternating the batters until you finish them.
Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes.
Drumroll please, for a stripeliciousspectacular cake…
…And now I’m off to check out the Opera that’s rocking the blogosphere…come witness an even more spectacular cake being unveiled at Daring Bakers sites today…THE OPERA CAKE!!
Chanced upon ‘The Cupcake Hero’ theme while perusing random blogs & saw that COCOA was the theme for the month. The crew there say…”Well, let’s see your skills! Each month a theme ingredient will be named. The theme ingredient must be used in either the cupcake, the frosting, the filling or all of the above if you choose. Simple enough? I think so. I beg of you to be creative with this theme. Of course we will take any entries you guys bake up. With that said, go outside your comfort zone. Think up something new, exciting, different. Take cocoa to a new level. “
I tried…
Ever since I’ve seen After Eight Mint Chocolate Cupcakes on Rosie’s blog @ Rosie Bakes a Peace of Cake, I have been mesmerised by the very idea. Slept over it & had a brainwave one morning…peppermint comes from mint I guess, so decided to use mint fresh from the garden to introduce the icy cool. I must sound like I’m nuts, but I find silly stuff like this therapeutic & fun.
So I crushed mint leaves with some powdered sugar in the pestle & mortar to get the flavours out…inspiration from an Alice Medrich recipe where the sugar & citrus zest are rubbed together to enhance the flavours.
Made a thick chocolate ganache & stirred in the crushed mint.
Went a step further, crushed some more mint & flavoured the buttercream to top the little devils with!
Have been making chocolate cupcakes with cocoa ever since I can remember. Will sound strange, but it wasn’t until 2 years back that we began getting any kind of baking chocolate here! The supply is still very limited & often you will find the slabs all gone. People like me habitually buy them in bars of 1 kg & use them in a miserly fashion. Chocolate chips are unheard of in most shops!!! Hmmmmmmmmm…
Onto the cupcake recipe I have been using for eons…
Ingredients:
Flour – 1 cup
Cocoa – 6 tbsps
Baking Soda – 1/2 tsp
Baking powder – 1/4 tsp
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Butter – 1/2 cup (100gms)
Sugar – 1 cup
Eggs – 3
Vanilla Extract – 1 tsp
Water – 1/2 cup / boiling
Dark chocolate – 100gms
Cream – 2 tbsps
Mint leaves – 15-20
Powdered sugar – 1 tsp
Method:
Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Stir in the cream & mint. It should all come together. Divide it into 12 equal portions & keep aside as filling.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line a 12 muffin tray. I made 12 mini muffins in addition too from the batter that got left over.
Sift the flour + cocoa + baking powder + baking soda + salt. Keep aside.
Cream the butter & sugar till light & fluffy. Beat in the eggs one by one, followed by the vanilla.
On low speed, beat in the flour mix in 4 goes. Finally on low speed, gradually beat in the boiling water.
Put a tbsp of batter into each muffin case & top with mint ganache. Put in batter over this & fill it up to 2/3 rd’s full.
Bake for 20-25 minutes till done.
Cool on racks completely.
Buttercream: Beat 3 tbsps of butter with crushed mint + 1 1/2 tbsps of cream. Add in enough powdered sugar to get piping consistency.
Ice as desired with buttercream. Garnish with fresh mint leaves. Chill well & serve.
I had fun icing these beauties & loved the colours…deep chocolate & fresh, lively green. The buttercream was pretty too, speckled with bits of mint; tasted fresh & exciting too. The lily in the background is one from my garden & is my current passion.
Check it out…it went from bud to bloom in a matter of 2 hours!
I have my biscotti moments…at times, I will suddenly alight & set off to make a biscotti with a ‘flavour of the moment‘ off the top of my head. This particular moments’ flavour turned out to be coffee & roasted almonds.
A delicious, crisp biscotti!
I made these some time ago, & am tempted to set off & bake some now…only problem being that I’ve cut a nerve in the palm of my right hand & am incapacitated as far as baking/cooking goes. Which leaves me with very little to do; torturous, but my own fault. Was careless & got a shard of broken ceramic do the damage…:0(
Biscotti date to Ancient times. The term literally means “twice baked.” These hard biscuits fueled armies and fed travelers. Flavor variations and culinary techniques evolved according to time and place. German zweiback, Jewish mandelbrot, British ship’s biscuit, and American hardtack are similar in purpose and method.
Ingredients:
Granulated sugar – 2/3 cup
Olive Oil – ¼ cup (or canola oil; I used olive)
Eggs – 2
Vanilla extract – 2 tsp
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Salt -1/8 tsp
Flour – 1 1/4 cups
Stir in the flour mix; & gently turn the almonds into the dough. Mix in.
Transfer the dough to your parchment lined baking sheet and form into 2 logs, about 12” X 3 ½”. The dough is sticky, so you may have to dampen your hands to form the log.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until firm to the touch & light golden brown.
Remove from oven and cool for about 10 minutes.
Transfer the log gently to a cutting board and cut diagonally into 2 cm slices with a sharp serrated knife.
Reduce oven temperature to 135 degrees C. Place the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes, turn slices over, and bake for another 8 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container.
Makes about 20 – 24 biscotti
Note: Roast the almonds at 180 degrees for about 10 minutes, till the skin begins to crack open. Allow to cool, & then chop. Roasting brings out the sweetness & flavour in almonds. Can be done in advance.
This is a healthier version of the biscotti which I normally make. Have substituted some of the plain flour for whole-wheat flour & was quite pleased to see the kids enjoy them as much as we did. It’s always a good idea to gradually substitute plain flour with a portion of whole-wheat flour to increase the nutritive value…these are good, healthy cookies with no butter. Made with olive oil & full of nuts, they’re headed for Ivy @ Kopiaste & Ben @ What’s Cooking US for an event we can’t do without…Fat Chefs or Skinny Gourmets? (an event co-hosted by 2 of my fave bloggers).The call is to make something that you consider Diet Food for its nutritious value (high in vitamins and other nutrients and low in calories). I think we all need a little nibble at tea & this quite fits the bill!
I have my biscotti moments…at times, I will suddenly alight & set off to make a biscotti with a ‘flavour of the moment‘ off the top of my head. This particular moments’ flavour turned out to be coffee & roasted almonds.
A delicious, crisp biscotti!
I made these some time ago, & am tempted to set off & bake some now…only problem being that I’ve cut a nerve in the palm of my right hand & am incapacitated as far as baking/cooking goes. Which leaves me with very little to do; torturous, but my own fault. Was careless & got a shard of broken ceramic do the damage…:0(
Biscotti date to Ancient times. The term literally means “twice baked.” These hard biscuits fueled armies and fed travelers. Flavor variations and culinary techniques evolved according to time and place. German zweiback, Jewish mandelbrot, British ship’s biscuit, and American hardtack are similar in purpose and method.
Ingredients: Granulated sugar – 2/3 cup Olive Oil – ¼ cup (or canola oil; I used olive) Eggs – 2 Vanilla extract – 2 tsp Baking powder – 1 tsp Salt -1/8 tsp Flour – 1 1/4 cups
Stir in the flour mix; & gently turn the almonds into the dough. Mix in.
Transfer the dough to your parchment lined baking sheet and form into 2 logs, about 12” X 3 ½”. The dough is sticky, so you may have to dampen your hands to form the log.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until firm to the touch & light golden brown.
Remove from oven and cool for about 10 minutes.
Transfer the log gently to a cutting board and cut diagonally into 2 cm slices with a sharp serrated knife.
Reduce oven temperature to 135 degrees C. Place the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes, turn slices over, and bake for another 8 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container.
Makes about 20 – 24 biscotti
Note: Roast the almonds at 180 degrees for about 10 minutes, till the skin begins to crack open. Allow to cool, & then chop. Roasting brings out the sweetness & flavour in almonds. Can be done in advance.
This is a healthier version of the biscotti which I normally make. Have substituted some of the plain flour for whole-wheat flour & was quite pleased to see the kids enjoy them as much as we did. It’s always a good idea to gradually substitute plain flour with a portion of whole-wheat flour to increase the nutritive value…these are good, healthy cookies with no butter. Made with olive oil & full of nuts, they’re headed for Ivy @ Kopiaste & Ben @ What’s Cooking US for an event we can’t do without…Fat Chefs or Skinny Gourmets? (an event co-hosted by 2 of my fave bloggers).The call is to make something that you consider Diet Food for its nutritious value (high in vitamins and other nutrients and low in calories). I think we all need a little nibble at tea & this quite fits the bill!
