Food styling in Inida Archives - Passionate About Baking

Wholegrain Espresso Chocolate Tart

Wholegrain Espresso Chocolate Tart … because for me no celebration is complete without a hint of coffee! This is a simple tart. Also it’s a 100% wholegrain, eggless & delicious. Luxurious to put it mildly!

Sometimes the simplest of flavours taste best in dessert. For someone like me, this is where comfort food meets sensual smooth dessert. Mascarpone & coffee, or rather espresso, are great together. I have a homemade mascarpone recipe on the blog if you like. It’s very very simple to make at home & uses just 2 ingredients.

Use an instant coffee instead of espresso powder, your favourite shell recipe if you like, else a biscuit base but make this, you must!

This Wholegrain Espresso Chocolate Tart shell is an adaptation of the eggless gingerbread man I made a few days ago. I’ve been playing with that recipe which has all the goodness of wholewheat flour, coconut sugar, honey, crystallized ginger & my favourite ingredient, clarified /ghee! What’s not to love!

And of course I had the most fun piping these free hand christmas trees with melted chocolate, then adding little dragees to them. Picked up a few dragees from Michaels in NY in November this year. Just makes me so happy to use them! Took me back to years ago when stuff like this was a regular every Christmas!

I also baked up loads of cookies a few days ago, an eggless fruit cake too. I loved the shortbread & linzer I made, one cookie dough that works for both. Will share that soon!

Sharing the Wholegrain Espresso Chocolate Tart recipe today, blogging after quite long, all for the love of coffee! I’ll hopefully try & get more regular on the blog too. Thank you for being so patient.

I’m spending a lot of time on Instagram these days. Are you there? Please tag me on passionateaboutbaking on Instagram if you try any recipe, or follow me if you like! I’d love to connect with you.

Have a great holiday season!

Wholegrain Espresso Chocolate Tart

Wholegrain Espresso Chocolate Tart is a simple tart. Also it's 100% wholegrain, eggless & delicious. Use an instant coffee instead of espresso powder, your favourite shell recipe if you like, else a biscuit base but make this, you must! Serves 6-8

Keyword baking, chocolate, coffee, dessert, eggless, homemade, sweet

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

Tart Base

1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp softened ghee
1 tsp espresso powder
Pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour {atta}
2 tbsp honey
2-3 tbsp cream

Mascarpone Espresso Filling

200 g mascarpone
100 Amul cream
30 g coconut sugar
1 tbsp espresso powder

Chocolate Espresso Topping

100 g 72% dark chocolate room temperature
150 g Amul cream
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp espresso powder

Garnish

50 g chocolate for trees

Instructions

Tart Base

Preheat oven to 180C
Line the base of a 13.75" by 4.325" rectangular fluted removable bottom tart mold with a strip of parchment.
Place the clarified butter/ghee & coconut sugar in bowl of stand mixer and whisk until smooth. Add the espresso powder, salt and baking soda. Whisk.
Now add the whole wheat flour and mix on low until just combined. Drizzle over the honey, then add just enough cream to bring the base together. The dough should hold when pinched between the fingertips.
Push into the tart tin, building up the sides first, then firmly pat into base.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until firm to touch. Cool completely before filling.
{Tart shell can be made a day before}

Mascarpone Espresso Filling

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk/beat until smooth. Don't overbeat. We're looking for a thick filling that holds well.

Chocolate Espresso Topping

Heat the cream in a large bowl for a minute.
Add the chocolate and leave to stand for a little while until the chocolate melts, 10-15 minutes.
Add the honey & espresso powder and stir until smooth. Cool.
Assemble tart by filling the shell with the mascarpone espresso cream. Spread it evenly, then top with the chocolate espresso.
Garnish as desired with melted chocolate shapes. Slice & serve in winter, chill for about an hour in summer.

Coppre … Indian traditional copperware. Reviving old traditional skills, timeless designs

“There is no creation without tradition; the ‘new’ is an inflection on a preceding form; novelty is always a variation on the past.”
Carlos Fuentes

It’s no secret that I love amassing kitchen collectibles, the incorrigible prop collector as it may be! It’s a passion I have stoked for years, even before the blog began, and I don’t see the passion diminishing. Glassware, ceramic, stoneware, metal ware all call my name, be it from India or overseas. It’s an obsession I try to tear myself away from, each piece has a story!

The house now resembles a museum of sorts, with old kitchen collectibles dotting nearly every visible space, yet I march on greedily at times! Nothing seems to stop me, the better half still as accommodating and indulgent as ever. My favourite medium remains metal ware. So I was elated when the good folk from Coppre asked if they could send me something from their collection. Yes please I said, I would be honoured!

Coppre … inspired by creating beautiful things. Objects that are crafted by hand embody a unique identity. And convey a special sense of purpose. We look at objects from yesteryears and marvel at the craftsmanship. It never ceases to amaze us how every utilitarian object had an element of ornamentation. And vice versa. So many handcrafting traditions have ceased to be. There were game changers. The colonisers, the industries. And today, the dynamics of a market driven economy.

… the plan. To reinvigorate. And make old artisan traditions come alive. That’s what we love to do. To make beautiful things, that matter. Things that are owned, treasured, loved and then passed on. Things that make you feel good and do good. Because it gives us joy. And purpose.

My love for Indian metal ware dates back to my first little copper tumbler I bought from Vishwanath ki gali in Benaras, now Varanasi. It’s been decades since I’ve visited but the Coppre jug brought a flood of memories back.

Make a morning ritual of drinking copper-charged water with the Terracopper Jug. With a combination of handbeaten etches and plain surface, the jug reveals the innate sheen of copper. The silhouette is inspired by the simplicity of earthern water jugs.

I used to religiously keep the little copper glass full of water every night and glug it down the copper-charged water first thing next morning. It was a ritual and held a deep connect with Benaras, where we spent most of our childhood summers. My daughter was there on a college trip last year; her sketches of Varanasi below captured some of my favourite memories….…and that resonates with what Coppre has done. It’s brought alive an age old tradition, breathed new life into a dying art, and they’ve done it with class. It’s the craftsmanship they have resurrected, hammered metal now so popular in the West, is available here. The possibilities are immense. Copper is a beautiful metal, artistic, long lasting and has great medicinal properties.To reconstitute and revive is the Coppre promise. To breathe new life into our heritage. What a beautiful journey they’ve undertaken. It’s no small task but look at how brilliant the beginning is. Because this is what they do best – design | craft | propagate. This will bring the spotlight back on our artisans, our craft, and our heritage. Do stop by and look at their range – everyday use, corporate gifting, wedding souveniers. It’s uplifting, it’s inspiring and it celebrates the revival of an almost lost art…

… and they do it in style. Beautiful craftsmanship, stunning finish, great packaging, thoughtful bag of polish, cloth bags to protect, useful instructions, international shipping. What more can one want ask for ….

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

Baking | Oats Nut Crispbread … delicious, light, addictive. Simple too #wholegrain #healthy

“I figure it’s a European thing to eat cheese and crackers before a meal – that’s my afternoon snack, or I do it before dinner.”
Andrew Luck

Oats Nut Crispbread … some pleasures in life are simple. These are one of those. Nibble, nibble, nibble. This crispbread is just the right thing for healthy snacking. Also just right for the cheeseboard, with dips, fruit, crumbled over salad, layered into a savoury parfait … or then, the dough baked into bite sized canapes.

Need I say more? It’s a recipe I developed for the Saffola Fit Foodie website, and it’s one I now make often. It’s amazing how versatile oats as an ingredients can be, and also how much you can push your boundaries if you think out of the box. This recipe is just a small beginning to get you going, to encourage you perhaps to get off the refined way of life. It’s not that I don’t used all purpose flour at all, but I’m happy to say it might be a mere 5% of my baking that sees it. The odd birthday cake, some in a pizza base, maybe in bread dough paired with wholewheat, yet it’s an achievement.

And one of the easiest ways to make the wholegrain transition is via crackers. They are easy, versatile, can be rolled into submission, heartlessly broken into shards or daintily cut into perfect shapes. They are also an absolute treat to eat. Grab some really nice cheese, a chilled glass of wine if you like, fresh fruit and dry, salad leaves, micro-greens, cold cuts, some good company {else a good book} … settle yourself in a heap and get nibbling!

For me these are good any time of the day, any day of the year. Of course I love putting them together more in winter when beet greens and rocket are flourishing. Yet summer is here, a dab of feta, some caramelised onions & garlic jam, balsamic mushrooms, olives, sun dried tomatoes …. you get the drift? Now all you need to do is to make these! You knead to roll!!

Recipe: Oats Nut Crispbread

Summary: Delicious, light, addictive, versatile and simple to make, this Oats Nut Crispbread is very addictive and makes quite the perfect snack for a hungry nibble. If you are adventurous enough, you can even bake the dough into bite sized shells for canapes!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:

160 gm whole wheat flour
115g oats {1 cup}
40g walnuts, roughly chopped
20g white sesame seeds
20g black sesame seeds
1½ tsp salt
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp /30 ml extra virgin olive oil
¾ cup / 175 ml water {approx}

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Place the flour, oats, salt, garlic powder, baking powder and walnuts in bowl of food processor, and pulse for a few seconds to chop walnuts. Add seeds and oil. Pulse briefly to mix.
Turn into a large bowl, add 1/2 a cup of water and knead into a smooth firm dough, adding more water as required.
Knead for 2-3 minutes, and allow to rest, covered, on the counter for 15 minutes.
Roll out on a lightly floured counter, and cut into desired shapes with a fluted pastry cutter, a pizza cutter or a knife
Place on prepared baking sheets and bake for 15-18 minutes until lightly coloured and golden brown on the edges.
Cool on racks. Store in an airtight container in a cool place.
Serve with dips, on a cheese board etc.

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

Baby Mustard Greens Indian Stir Fry … #freshproduce #NorthIndia #vegetarian #stirfry #healthy

“The easiest diet is, you know, eat vegetables, eat fresh food. Just a really sensible healthy diet like you read about all the time.”
Drew Carey

Baby Mustard Greens Indian Stir Fry … quick, as spicy as you like it, simple and fuss free. Fresh produce is one of the highlights of winter in North India, and mustard greens a quintessential favourite. Someone asked me the other day if I only bake, and I almost gawked! I cook more than I bake, or maybe equal amounts. I love to cook, and love trying new stuff. I just don’t blog it often enough.

So turning a corner near home yesterday, I chanced upon this young lad selling a cartload of farm fresh vegetables. The greens caught my glad eye and I hit the brakes. They weren’t the normal greens we see everyday. They were tiny, or rather baby, mustard greens … fresh, tender and absolutely delightful. All I could think of was ‘I wish I had my camera‘. The next best thing was of course to buy some, take it home and shoot! So I bought a bunch of stuff for a princely Rs100 {less than $2} and raced home in excitement.

North Indian winter is incomplete without a meal of sarson ka saag and makki ki roti. It’s a dish I make often through the winter, yet this year I haven’t got there for some silly reason. The upside of course that winter is longer and colder this year, so there’s plenty of promise of the dish showing up in the days to come. Since that is a more involved dish to make despite the several shortcuts I take, the Baby Mustard Greens Indian Stir Fry seemed a simpler option.

A quick consultation with Sangeeta who rules the roost for fresh produce and is a ‘food knowledge bank‘ in my eyes, and I knew what I would make. I cooked up a simple stir fry … loads of green chilies and loads of flavour, and served it up with one of my favourite non vegetarian dishes – a chicken korma. Kept the leaves whole for this since they were small and tender, yet you can always chop them up.

Also feel free to reduce {or increase } the green chilies. they add a nice touch of heat served alongside the mild and flavourful Awadhi Chicken Korma, which incidentally is one of our family favourites. That korma, shared here and seems to get better each time we make it! It’s simple and uncomplicated too, with staple pantry ingredients.

[print_this]Recipe: Baby Mustard Greens Indian Stir Fry

Summary: Baby Mustard Greens Indian Stir Fry … quick, as spicy as you like it, simple and fuss free. Fresh produce is one of the highlights of winter in North India, and mustard greens a quintessential favourite.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

750g baby mustard greens, leaves picked
1 1/2 tbsp mustard oil
1 whole dried red chili
1/2 tsp asafoetida
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 green chillies, finely sliced
1 medium tomato, chopped
Salt to taste

Method:

Wash and spin the baby mustard leaves in a salad spinner to get rid of extra water. {You can chop the leaves f you like]
Heat oil in a wok, add the whole red chili when the oil reaches smoking point, and discard it once it blackens.
Add asafoetida, green chillies and tomato to oil and stir fry to mix.
Add all the leaves, reduce heat to simmer and cover and cook for 5-7 minutes until the leaves wilt.
Open, season with salt, stir to mix well, and simmer for another 10 minutes or so until the leaves are cooked.
Increase heat and stir fry until dryish. taste and adjust seasoning.

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

Desserts in Glasses| Dark Chocolate Oat & Walnut Pudding {eggless} & a Cranberry Cocktail Fruit Jelly…

“I am starting to think that maybe memories are like this dessert. I eat it, and it becomes a part of me, whether I remember it later or not.”
Erica Bauermeister

Dark Chocolate Oat & Walnut Pudding {eggless} … with the festive season well underway, it’s always the more the merrier when it comes to desserts. Leave it to me, and I would pretty much try and squeeze and recreate every dessert to fit into wine glasses, or any glasses for that matter. There is something quite ethereal and fun about it. Convenient and quick too!

This is what the year is probably going to be like. Quick recipes. Fun too. Hopefully will get a handle on the techs behind the camera. The healthy, or rather healthier twist is also going to rule. Feels like a lot more chocolate through winter, and then loads of summer fruit in the hot months. So much to look forward to.I am a huge believer in individually portioned desserts, preferably in glasses. It’s fun to layer in them, fun to see the visual delight they offer and fun to see kids faces light up while holding a stem glass. That I also play around with different sizes and kinds of glasses is a personal choice. I need to break the monotony of life, of setting, of serving and of course of taking photographs.

So this is a recipe I recently did for Cosmopolitan India. The criteria was interesting … an original recipe, easy to cook, shouldn’t take longer than 20-30 minutes to put together and most importantly, it should boast ingredients with ‘beauty benefits’. Create anything you like as long as it will do the skin some good. I have been working a LOT with oats of late, especially with my association with Fit Foodie. Well oats are good for the skin too, as a scrub, as a face pack, and of course ‘in a dish to eat’!! Chocolate and honey fitted right in! Just my kind of recipe, and one that went well with the theme!

So Good for You!
Oats are big on anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that battle skin probs, and they work as a natural moisturizer. Dark chocolate repairs dry skin, shields against UV rays, erases fine lines and wrinkles, adds shine to locks, and promotes hair growth!

I did another interesting dessert in a glass for a magazine I write for. It was a Cranberry Cocktail Fruit Jelly, which appeared in Abraxas NU this December. The recipe is festive, it’s fun and it’s make ahead! See…
On another note, I was thrilled to be featured in the VOGUE India, Food & Drink Guide 2015 … doing what I like to do best! The guide showcased ‘food bloggers who are excellent photographers’. Yours truly found mention there!

Cheers to the new year. What is your favourite ‘dessert in a glass’ OR favourite way to serve dessert?

[print_this]Recipe: Dark Chocolate Oat & Walnut Pudding {eggless}

Summary: The Dark Chocolate Oat & Walnut Pudding turned out bowl scraping good. Deeply soul satisfying, smooth with beautiful texture, it’s quite delightful for an eggless chocolate pudding. Using oats meant that it ended up being gluten free too! {Recipe can be easily halved}. Serves 8

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes plus chilling
Ingredients:

Pudding
400g 2% milk
200ml low fat cream
30g cocoa powder
35g oats, ground to fine meal
125g 52% dark couverture chocolate, chopped
75g brown sugar
50g honey
50g roasted walnuts, chopped
Topping
Roasted walnut halves
chocolate shavings

Method:

Place all ingredients in a heavy bottom pan and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken. Once it becomes as thick as a custard, take off heat, allow to cool, then puree with an immersion blender or blitz in a food processor.
Fold the chopped walnuts through {optional}
Pour into serving bowls / glasses.
Cool and then chill for 4-6 hours, preferably overnight.
Top with roasted walnuts, chocolate shavings, or even seasonal berries like blueberries, strawberries etc.

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

Food Styling Workshop at Indian Food Bloggers Meet, Bangalore 2014 – ‘food-o-graphy’

… where food tells your story!

Do moods, colours, stories, ingredients, seasons, connects, props and everything in between paint your daily canvas? They do for me, an obsessed baker and cook, a ‘locavore’ by design, who enjoys getting food to the table with seasonal ingredients and local produce. Give me an ingredient, offer me an idea … that’s enough for the magic to begin! Thoughts flow, the lens focuses and I begin to dream!

Writing my food blog since Aug 2007 made me move from just baking, to baking and taking pictures. Then came the abundant inspiration from the magical internet. Styling the food for the lens became second nature; stuff my dreams are made up of. I want to tell my story, and most of the time it is through pictures with some words to tie the post together! I am seldom lost for inspiration as seasons, colours, ingredients, people all inspire me. When I hit a road block, you will probably find me at Pinterest.

I devour cookbooks for meals. I am fascinated as I turn pages of my favourite authors … Ottolenghi, Donna Hay to name a couple. They inspire me. I dream food, FOOD in pictures actually. Vibrant, rich, colourful, moody, picturesque … then wake up with thoughts of how to capture my dreams. I am also an obessive prop collector, hardly a secret from those who know me. I’ve been one for years, even before I began food styling. Vintage and rustic props make my DNA! So when Aparna asked if I might be interested in doing a Food Styling workshop at the IFBM in August, I said YES PLEASE!

Food styling is something I love, and something I find engaging. The good thing…the more you see, the more you share, the more you learn. Creativity is very individual, and for me, it exposes a part of me in every frame. Moody more often than never, I sometimes step across to the lighter side too … whatever tells my story!

So hope to see you at the Indian Food Bloggers Meet at Bangalore for a little ‘ food-o-graphy ‘

Summary of the Food Styling Workshop – Every food story is unique, rich and worth a share. Through the lens, I’m here to discuss how to capture the story behind your food. Connecting the ‘dots’ or rather crumbs, let’s try and see how we can slowly develop our trademark style!

Will discuss basic planning, building a frame, setting the mood, using props to tell your story.

Hope to see you there! Would love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, thinks you might like included etc. Look forward to catching up with you!

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

Tag: Food styling in Inida

Wholegrain Espresso Chocolate Tart