Tag: yogurt

LOW FAT ROASTED PEACH & PLUM EGGLESS ICE-CREAM…Time to Social-ice!

“My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it’s on your plate – that’s my philosophy”
Thornton Wilder
I had peaches. I had plums. I had a firm grip on the whisk & the ice-cream scoop! Did I mention a firm resolve to make ice-cream before July flew right by? Does anyone know what’s happening to the summer months? Everyday flies by so fast that I’m having a tough time keeping up with July. Announcing July as the official National Ice Cream Month is a deliciously wicked way to make July enticing…
“Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States, do hereby proclaim July 1984 as National Ice Cream Month and July 15, 1984, as National Ice Cream Day and I call upon the people of the United States to observe these events with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”
Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States (1981-89)
It’s time for an Ice Cream Social!

To add to the ice cream celebration, a special blogging friend, who writes a beautiful blog by the name of Tangled Noodle, is calling for entries throughout July for an exciting ice-cream event! She’s joined hands with 2 great bloggers, Scott @ ScottySnacks, and Jennifer @ Savorthethyme to get us all together to social-ice! In her words … It’s official: eating ice cream for the entire month of July is nothing less than our civic duty… I used a recipe I had posted earlier, Strawberry Fro Yo, as the basis for this. Delicious, and not too damaging for the diet! Actually, I had a Peach Fro Yo in mind when I went to buy the peaches, but the plums begged me to buy them too. Peaches in ice-cream were stuck in my head from posts at SGCC & Chez Us that I read sometime back. I also wanted to experiment roasting some peaches before the season disappeared altogether. Think I managed to roast them in the nick of time, because it’s now time to bid adieu to peaches here. The poor plums had to share the fate! Roasting the peaches & plums filled the house with summery sweet aromas, & I got caught in my own ice-cream factory of sorts. Worked where my mind led me, adding sugar, pure vanilla extract (it has a vodka base, so helps keep frozen stuff a little soft) & almond essence to come up with this beautifully flavoured ice-cream. I’m still a long way from adding yolks to my ice creams; it’s just not happening!The fro-yo eventually became a low fat ice-cream because I added a little cream in the end … just felt the need for some luxury & creaminess. But by all means, you can skip that last bit & make it a ‘Fro Yo’. This has a great balance of flavours, sweet with tang from the peaches & yogurt … an absolutely yummy combination! I served the ice-cream topped with homemade roasted candied almonds & candied ginger slivers as the kids have discovered a new love for candied ginger. My batch of candied ginger that I made off a David Levobitz recipe ages ago is just about finishing off. I also served some ice cream with these delicious Fresh Peach & Ginger Peasant Cakes I made a few days ago. They are a twist on clafoutis, an eggless version, but mighty intriguing. It was with these enchanting cakes that the kids discovered their love for ginger! I’m going to post these peasant cakes next … and you are going to love them!!

Now, for the low fat & eggless ‘Roasted Peach & Plum Ice -Cream’!
LOW FAT ROASTED PEACH & PLUM ICE-CREAM
Ingredients:
1 cup (240g) hung curd
4-5 peaches
4-5 plums
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
1/2 tsp almond essence
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
200 ml low fat cream (25% fat) or half & half (you can omit this if you’d like to make a frozen yogurt version)

Method:

  • Tie yogurt in a cheesecloth and let it sit in a strainer in a bowl overnight or for at least 2 hours to get 1 cup of thick hung curd (or curd cheese). This will help drain off all the whey and result in a very creamy ice cream. (Overnight is a better option).
  • Halve & pit the peaches & plums. Place in lined baking pan, sprinkle over with the brown sugar. Roast in pre-heated oven at 200C for 30 minutes, or until soft & beginning to get caramelised a bit.
  • Once cool, slip off the peels. Then blend to puree with the vanilla sugar using an immersion blender. Strain if some peels got left behind. you should get approximately 1 3/4 cups of fruit puree. A little deviation hardly matters.
  • Beat the hung curd till smooth. Add the puree & beat in to mix well. Next add the cream (if using) & almond essence & vanilla extract & blend well.(Check & adjust the sweetness if you like).
  • Freeze the mixture in a wide dish or plastic container. (The larger the surface area, quicker the freezing – since we have to pulse this mixture a couple of times), OR freeze it according to the instructions on your ice-cream machine.
  • If you don’t have an ice-cream machine, like I don’t, keep checking on the mixture every 30 minutes or so and use the stick blender to break the icicles, 4, maybe 5 times. (I use a sturdy whisk).
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥
Posted by Deeba @ PAB

INDIAN BERRY FRO YO … phalsa frozen yogurt

“Ice cream cravings are not to be taken lightly.”
Betsy Cañas Garmon

Blogging about food is something entirely fulfilling, a world I can unwind in. It’s a different space altogether, where you don’t have to seek inspiration. It’s there in every post, on everyblog. One such blog is Canela’s Kitchen Recipes, which belongs to lovely Gloria, who blogs from Santiago, Chile. She makes great use of fruit & has a mind-boggling array of fruity compositions on her blog. Gloria’s post about Blueberries & Raspberry Ice-cream is the source of inspiration for this fro yo that I made. The colour of her ice-cream was enough to unnerve me, & set me thinking. I HAD to get that colour in my freezer, by hook or crook. No blueberries or raspberries here, but this tart Indian berry, phalsa, was the perfect answer to my craving. Made this beautifully coloured, sweet & tart frozen yogurt to give colour to my dreams. It was one delicious & refreshing ice-cream!

Discovering David Levobitz’s Strawberry Frozen Yogurt off Purple Foodies blog was the best thing that happened to me this Spring. The Strawberry Frozen Yogurt was more ice-cream / less yogurt, & very very worth every lick of the spatula while making it! The recipe offers a perfect balance of sweetness, a little tanginess, & total satisfaction … all without the guilt of ‘fatty’ calories.A treat of this sort, with the goodness of berries, is more than I could have asked for. Going a step further now, as strawberries are out of season now, I decided to experiment with phalsas or Indian berries called ‘grewia asiatica’.

INDIAN BERRY FROZEN YOGURT
as adapted from David Levobitz
Ingredients:
1/2 kg Indian berries /(phalsa berries / grewia asiatica)
1 1/2 cup sugar (increase if need be)
1/2 cup water
Juice of 1 lime
Pinch of salt
1 cup thick yogurt (I hung it for 2-3 hours)
150ml cream (light 25% fat)
Method:

  • Macerate the berries in sugar for 1-2 hours. Mash well, add water if required (these Indian berries do require some water as they are very tiny).
  • Pass through a strainer & push out as much thick pulp as you can. I got 2 cups of berry pulp.
  • Whip the yogurt & cream. Add a pinch of salt & the berry pulp. Whisk till smooth.
  • Put into a plastic container & freeze, whisking every hour to break & distribute the crystals. Freeze till set; works better overnight.
  • Enjoy!!
Posted by Deeba @ PAB

Sweet Times with Swiss Rolls & Strawberries

‘This one smells like strawberry.”
Lusy Garcia
Helen @ Tartlette posted about dried strawberries & macarons, & it transported me back to remininsencing about the good days we enjoyed with strawberries this past Spring. There’s something about this berry that draws you to it. I want to grab a handful & enjoy them, but they also cast a spell on me. Can’t just eat them as is … got to do more.They’re done for the season here, but I had a couple of last things I did with them. This is one of them, & there’sne moreore, a meringue slice cake, that’s the last one! Of course, had they been here still, I would have made this beautiful Strawberry Bruschetta too that Chris @ Melle Cotte did.
I made this because I wanted something light & with minimum fuss to the baking. With high summer temperatures here, electricity has been playing truant … more not there, than there (same story,different year for those who read my blog last year…he he). Some say I’m playing with fire by still attempting to bake, but what’s life without adventure? I’ve been lucky so far, & tread the path carefully. My summer baking is often limited to stuff that needs to bake for under 30 minutes, & I never pop in something into the oven on the hour! You see, that’s how power cuts here work!!

I love the idea of a Swiss roll. Minimum ingredients, no recipe pages needed after you make it a couple of times, baking time of 10 minutes, & dress it or don’t … it tastes great either way. Play around with flavours if you like … the choices are unlimited!STRAWBERRY SWISS ROLL
Ingredients:
3 eggs
1/2 cup Castor sugar (I used powdered vanilla sugar)
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp pure vanilla extract Filling:
100ml whipping cream (we get a 25% cream here/low fat)
1/2 cup curd cheese (or use just cream if you like)
200gms strawberries (reserve 1-2 for garnishing)
3-4 tbsps Castor sugar 3-4 (adjust according to tartness of berries)
Vanilla sugar for sprinkling on top (optional)Method:

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line, grease & dust a Swiss roll tin.
  • Beat the eggs, essence & sugar till mousse like, & holds shape for 5 seconds (beat for almost 10 minutes).
  • Lightly fold the flour in 3 goes in figure 8 movements (so as not to release the air bubbles).
  • Gently turn into prepared tray & bake for 10-12 minutes till light brown & spongy.
  • Turn onto a kitchen cloth sifted with Castor sugar. Remove lining & roll the cloth into a firm roll.
  • Leave to cool. Unroll once cooled.
  • With an immersion blender, puree 4-5 strawberries into the curd cheese. You should get a nice thick mixture. Halve the remaining strawberries, reserving a couple for garnishing if you want.
  • Beat the cream with Castor sugar till it holds peaks.(put 3-4 tbsps in a plastic baggie & reserve for piping on top if desired)
  • Fold the whipped cream into the strawberry curd cheese gently so that it holds shape.
  • Open out the rolled sponge, & spoon it over the cake, leaving a border around. Dot the halved strawberries over the filling. Give it a dusting of vanilla sugar (optional; I like the flavour it lends). Don’t overdo the strawberries or the cream might ooze out.
  • Gently roll the sponge back into a roll, taking care not to squeeze the filling out. Place onto serving platter, seam side down. Trim the ends if you like. Chill for about 30 minutes & then pipe designs over it with the reserved whipped cream& sprinkle vanilla sugar.
  • Chill well & serve in slices.
Posted by Deeba @ PAB

Chocolate Strawberry Refrigerator Cheesecake …summer ♥

“There’s more to life than chocolate, but not right now”
Anonymous

There’s a new book out there, & it sounds good … Cooking Green by Kate Heyhoe. It’s aimed at shrinking your ‘cookprint’ (new interesting word for me), & offers daily strategies for ‘lower impact living’. To quote the author, “How we cook is as important as what we cook. Fortunately, the kitchen is the place where you can make real green choices, and take direct control of your impact—through passive and active cooking strategies, water conservation tips, and low-carbon choices for cookware, appliances, foods, dining, and more. Save money and time, too, just by rethinking how you cook and eat. Cooking Green is like having a personal eco-consultant at your side whenever you cook, shop or eat. You’ll discover how to prepare favorite meals using less fuel and water, and make greener choices along the entire food chain, from field to market to home. The goal: lower your impact, and shrink your cookprint. Topics cover cookware from skillets to pressure cookers, appliances small and large, buying options from organics to packaging, and strategies that stretch from water heater to kitchen sink.”
This eggless no-bake cheesecake was delicious, but more importantly, gained brownie points due to a lower cookprint & use of yogurt in the form of curd cheese. It also gave me a chance to combine 2 good things in life … chocolate & strawberries. We’ve bid adieu to strawberries this season, & this is one the last few things I tried while I could lay my hands on some good fresh ones.
I receive numerous mails from readers of my blog looking for ‘eggless cakes’. A large portion of people in India are vegetarian / ‘no egg’ eaters, some on certain days of the week, some for a short period of time, & some others for life. I’m not a huge ‘egg in food’ person myself, & prefer my ice-creams, pastas, bread eggless etc, but have come a long way in learning that the problem lies more in my mind than on the plate. I have no reservations about using eggs , but sometimes would choose a panna cotta over a bake which has eggs. Strange…hmmmm.Baking & eggs do go hand in hand … what do eggs do?
Eggs, as well as flour, are the structural ingredients in baking. Eggs provide leavening; add color, texture, flavor and richness to the batter. They are very important in helping to bind all the other ingredients together. Beaten eggs are a leavening agent as they incorporate air into the batter, which will expand in the oven and cause the cake to rise. Some cakes use beaten eggs as their only source of leavening. Eggs are also used as a thickener in custards and creams, and to glaze pastries and breads. Egg whites are used to make meringues.
Yet, ‘no bake & no eggs’ make good friends at times. Learnt that in this Strawberry Refrigerator Cheesecake I did earlier. This time it had to be chocolate. I had hung curd cheese in the fridge, & wanted to make something with chocolate this time around. There was frozen yogurt in the freezer, so frozen chocolate yogurt would have to wait for another day, though is entirely a possibility in the experimental days to come. Of course when I lay down at night, the mind kept thinking, & this is what I attempted the next morning. I had initially planned individual desserts, but lack of time forced me to make a single cheesecake with curd cheese. It came out beautifully…smooth, rich & delicious! For the biscuit base, I used some left-over Brown Sugar Shortbread I had iced earlier in the week for Easter. I had made about a dozen round cookies to use as a base for individual desserts, but a rapid change of plans made me crush them. Feel free to use graham crackers or digestives if you like.

CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY REFRIGERATOR CHEESECAKE (Eggless)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups curd cheese (made with curd hung overnight to remove all whey)
400ml low fat cream (We get a 25% fresh cream/Amul here)
200gms dark chocolate
50 gms white coocolate (optional)
1/2 cup vanilla sugar (or plain)
1 1/2 tbsps gelatin
1/3 cup milk; cold
Biscuit crust
200gms brown sugar shortbread cookies; crushed (or gingersnaps/digestives etc)
75gms melted butter
Method:
  • Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold milk & leave over a bowl of warm water till clear & melted.
  • Melt the dark chocolate & loosen it with 100ml cream. Microwave for 20-25 seconds to blend well if need be. Leave to cool.
  • Whisk the remaining cream  {minus 2 tbsp  to soft peaks}.
  • Whisk the curd cheese & sugar in the processor till smooth. Add the melted dark chocolate ganache & whisk till well blended. Then add the gelatin mixture & blend again. Fold in the whipped cream. Adjust sweetness if required.
  • Melt the white chocolate with 2 tbsps cream, & stir until smooth.
  • Hull & halve about 10 strawberries for the sides if you like, reserved 3-4 for topping, & hull, chop the rest.
  • Line a 7″ spring from tin with baking parchment on the bottom & sides. Stand the halved strawberries all around, tip facing downwards & drizzle some white chocolate around the circumference to hold them in place. (You can omit this if you are short on time).
  • Scatter the chopped strawberries on the bottom of the tin. Pour the chocolate mixture gently over this, careful that the standing strawberries don’t get shifted. I have just an 8″ springform tin, so I used a ring in the centre to get a decent height to my cake.
  • Set in the fridge for at least 4 hours, check to see that the top is slightly firm. Mix the melted butter into the breadcrumbs, & tbsp by tbsp spread gently but quickly over the top to form a uniform crust. You need to this a little quick as the butter will begin to set in contact with the chilled cheesecake. Allow to set a further 4 hours or overnight.
  • Invert onto a dessert plate, garnish the top & serve chilled slices!
This is also my entry for Monthly Mingle #32 @ What’s For Lunch Honey, where the lovely Meeta is calling for fruity Spring Cakes. Our Spring is done with here in India, but this fruity cake is all yours Meeta…

 

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

FROZEN STRAWBERRY YOGURT…a refreshing ice-cream in disguise!

“Ice cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn’t illegal.”
Voltaire
And when it is ‘N O F A T’, as in fat-free, insanely fruity & tangy, & has yogurt, then it’s even bettah! This refreshing Frozen Strawberry Yogurt is much the ice-cream that I crave, & has all the goodness of the world stirred inside it. Stirred because it’s hand made, yes you heard right, as I don’t own an ice-cream machine, & David Levobitz is quite right when he says you can make ice-cream without a machine. Rolling lasagna for Daring Baker’s Lasgana of Emilio Romagna (embarrassingly I was amongst a large number of us who thought Emilio Romagna was a lady, not a region as it actually is), gave me strong biceps. Making hand made ice-cream just adds to the toning…LOL!! I found this recipe posted by Coco @ Purple Foodie & have made it twice already, the first time with basil, & the second time without. Perfect scoop each time. I love yogurt with fruit & this has to be the easiest & most delicious summer dessert. While I wait impatiently for the mango season to arrive, I have a few bag of strawberries in the freezer… Thank you for the idea Coco!This post is specially for Year 3 of Cooking to Combat Cancer, an the event which is on its third go around. Cooking to Combat Cancer was started in March ’07 by Chris @ Melle Cotte after her world was rocked by cancer.
Have you met Chris? She’s a fighter & she’s doing a great job sharing her experience & knowledge about combating cancer. in her words, “As you’re cooking over the next couple of weeks, try to work in recipes which include ingredients that help the body fight cancer. In short? Think healthy.” Check out her post here for many useful links. Berries are part of this list of 11 cancer fighting foods that I found on her post.
Berries: The two most widely studied cancer-fighting compounds in berries are ellagic acid (richest in strawberries and raspberries) and anthocyanosides (richest in blueberries). Ellagic acid is believed to help prevent skin, bladder, lung, and breast cancers, both by acting as an antioxidant and by slowing the reproduction of cancer cells. The anthocyanosides in blueberries are currently the most powerful antioxidants known to scientists and are beneficial in the prevention of all types of cancer.
I think this recipe might work as well with blueberries too, though I can’t try that version as blueberries are non-existent in India. My best choice was strawberries for Chris, & they do make this a very delicious low-cal dessert!FROZEN STRAWBERRY YOGURT
Adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients:
1 cup (240g) hung curd
1 pound (450g) strawberries, rinsed and hulled
2/3 cup (130g) sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

Method:

  • Tie the yogurt in a cheesecloth and let it sit in a strainer in a bowl overnight or for at least 2 hours. This will help drain off all the whey and result in a very creamy frozen yogurt dessert. (I think overnight is a better option)
  • Cut the strawberries and toss it in the sugar until it begins to dissolve. (I used vanilla sugar)
  • Blend it together to a puree. (Strain if you don’t like the seeds in)
  • Next, blend in the yogurt and lime juice until the mixture is smooth. (Check the sweetness if you like)
  • Freeze the mixture in a wide dish or plastic container. (The larger the surface area, quicker the freezing – since we have to pulse this mixture a couple of times).
  • Keep checking on the mixture every 30 minutes or so and use the stick blender to break the icicles, 4, maybe 5 times. (I used a sturdy whisk).
  • Once it’s almost set, you can add a handful of finely chopped fresh basil, or else, some chopped pistachio nuts if you like.
  • Garnish with sliced strawberries & a sprig of basil, or, chopped pistachio nuts & mint!

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Posted by Deeba @ PAB

STRAWBERRY YOGURT PANNA COTTA

“The secret lies in the love and the effort the maker puts into the creation. It really is a simple dessert to make. There’s nothing to it.”
Maria Olivas
Have finally found the time to post this lovely strawberry yogurt panna cotta which I made when my blogger friend Nachiketa was visiting. She came in to spend some time with me, & we did a whole lot of fun stuff that day , including cake & cupcake decoration. You can find the cake decoration post here. That day, we had a really hurried lunch, which we finished off with this simple, yet sublime, dessert which I made in a bit of a hurry. I randomly put in ingredients because I was really pressed for time the previous day, but made a note of them on a scrap of paper just in case it came out alright. I’m glad I did!! Panna cotta is traditionally a dessert. Born in the Piedmont dairy country of northeast Italy, panna cotta is a soft, creamy, eggless custard whose name translates as “cooked cream.” Despite its luxurious texture and elegant presentation, panna cotta is simple to prepare: heat some heavy cream, add sugar, softened gelatin, and flavorings, and then chill until set. And though the name means cooked cream, many recipes are reinterpreted with other dairy products, including plain milk, creme fraiche, buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese, and mascarpone cheese. Some recipes include panna cotta made with vegetable purees, such as Cauliflower Panna Cotta with Truffle Oil, and panna cotta made with a variety. Panna Cotta has to be part of my current strawberry overdrive, as we’ve been surprised with the extended availability of the passionate berry this Spring. It’s been a bonanza since the market is still flooded with them, & I’m making the most of this rare opportunity. The weather has been fabulous so far as the summer heat is yet to set in, & it thundered & rained for a larger part of today. Todays soccer league finals were carried out in slushy wet ‘fun-for-the-kids’ fields! This panna cotta came out beautifully. Vera @ Baking Obsession rightly said on her Yogurt Panna Cotta post, the amount of gelatin is the deciding factor. Too much & you can be chewing elastic, too little & it won’t set. I find my panna cotta tends to set better after an overnight rest, so that’s one thing I always do. It also helps to get one thing done in advance & out of the way, if you have company visiting the next day.
STRAWBERRY YOGURT PANNA COTTA
Ingredients:
1 cup curd cheese – 1 cup (made by hanging yogurt for 24-48 hours in the fridge)
200ml low fat cream (25% fat)
1/2 cup sugar
200gms strawberries; hulled & quartered (save a couple for garnishing if you like)
1 tsp gelatin
1/4 cup milk (at room temperature)

Method:

Sprinkle the gelatin over the milk in a small bowl, & leave to soften.

  • Whip the hung curd well 1/2 cup a cup of sugar. Add the strawberries & blend with the immersion blender.
  • Simmer cream for 5-7 minutes till it comes to a boil. Take off heat & stir in the gel till completely dissolved.
  • Strain into a big bowl & blend in the yogurt strawberry mixture. Cool to room temperature & pour into serving glasses / bowls.
  • I added a tsp of a mixture of coulis & strawberry jam an hour into setting, which found it’s way to the centre of the panna cotta. This is optional, but does give each spoonful a delicious kick!
  • Leave to set in the fridge for 4 hours, or better still overnight. Top with either some strawberry coulis or a sprig of mint leave & strawberry slices.
  • This makes 6-8 goblets.
    • Posted by Deeba @ PAB
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