Indian Cupcakes / Sheera / Sooji ka Halwa

We were planning to visit my husband's cousin in San Diego, CA and wanted to make something for her. I had prepared Masala Dosa Batter and chutney and was going to make the sabzi (potato curry) at her place. To make it a complete meal, I wanted to take some sweet dish and I could think of 2 types of sheera: One is Ravyacha Sheera/ Sooji ka Halwa (Sapat - that's what the konkanis call it) and second was Pithacha Sheera/Aatte ka Halwa, which my mother used to make with loads of love and ghee. I ended up making Ravyacha Sheera/Sooji Ka Halwa  as I wanted to use the banana I had and Pithacha sheera would have been an experiment ( I have never made it before but I have seen my mother make it) on her and her family which comprises of herself, her husband and a cute lil dog (Sammy).

The best part of our short visit to San Diego was the Gourmet Food Truck Festival at Del Mar. It had 30-35 gourmet food trucks - Right from Naan-Stop to 'Cupcake Wars' Winner Corner Cupcakes. There were huge lines for every food truck but we still managed to get some awesome food without a loooong wait. We had some attractive Potato Tornadoes which made people stop and ask us what exactly it was(that is what even I did). We also did some crazy photo session as if I was drowning in beer glass.

Potato Tornadoes (Cajun Style held by Ram and I am holding the Sweet Potato Style)  were the 

head-turners

HEEEEELP!!! I am drowning (read enjoying) in a glass full of beer!

Ingredients: 
Rava/Sooji/Semolina - 1 cup
Ghee/Indian Butter - 5tbspn
Milk - 1 cup
Water - 1cup
Sugar - 3/4cups
Cardamom/Elaichi, Powdered- 4 pods
Cashews, chopped - 1/3 cup
Raisins - 1 Tbspn
Ripe Banana - 1

Procedure: 

1. In a pan, roast the rava/sooji, cashews and raisins for 3-5mins on medium heat, stirring constantly. Make sure you don't over-roast it and make it brown.
2. At the same time, boil the water and milk together on med heat.
3. Now slowly pour the boiling water+milk mixture over the roasted rava stirring it simultaneously. Make sure no lumps are formed.
4. Now add the sugar, mashed ripe banana and the ghee and mix it well and shut it with the lid. Let it cook for 4-5mins on med-low heat.
5. Lastly, add the elaichi powder and mix it and serve warm or cold.

Variations: 
Remember that the Rava : (Milk+Water) proportion has to be 1:2. So you can vary it to make more water less milk or vice versa (I prefer it more milk and less water).
Also, you can roast cashews and raisins separately in butter and then add it to sheera after step # 3.

Conclusion:

It was very yummy, low in sugar (as everyone prefers less sugar now a days) and super moist Sheera. Even Sammy enjoyed a small morsel :).

Cajun Style Grilled Salmon/Blackened Salmon with Seasoned Grilled Vegetables

I love it when the grocery store near my house has some discounts/sale going on on herbs and spices. On one of such occasions, I bought Cajun Spice to try out Cajun Shrimp.
Now a days Husband dearest has become 'Carb Conscious' and so wants to eat less of Carbs and more of the proteins. Salmon has zero carbs and higher levels of Omega-3 fats (considered as good fat). So we eat a lot of seafood or meat with less carbs and starch & nuts like walnut, almond, hazelnut etc.

Ingredients: 
Salmon - 4 fillets


For Marinade
Cajun Spice - 3Tbspn
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tspn
Garlic, minced - 3 cloves
Olive Oil - 1 Tbspn
Water - 2Tbspn
Salt

Grilled Vegetable with Stir Fry Sauce
Broccoli florets - 2 cups
Bell Peppers, 1" cubes - 2 cups
Mushroom - 1cup
Garlic, minced - 1tspn
Ginger, finely chopped - 1tspn
Ketchup - 1Tbspn
Marsala Wine (Optional) - 2Tbspn
Soy - 1Tbspn
Red Chilli Flakes - 2Tbspn
Salt & Pepper

Procedure: 
Mix all the ingredients for marinade and coat the salmon fillet with it and keep aside. Now mix all the ingredients for Vegetable stir fry and put it on the grill. Once they are grilled, put the salmon fillets on the grill and grill for 8-10 mins on each side or till the salmon is cooked.
Serve the salmon with the grilled vegetables stir fry and / or rice.


Variations: 
This dish can be varied as per the taste else it is just too good! Try the Shrimp Jambalaya with it, if you think this is not enough!


Conclusion:
Low Carb diet was devoured in minutes.

Serves: 2 - 3
Total Time - 30 mins

Paneer Tikka Panini

Cafe Coffee Day was the all time hang out place for me and my friends. I loved the Tropical Iceberg there. I remember having this Paneer Tikka Panini there and OMG, it was very yummy. But I did not have enough motivation and a kitchen to try it out (I used to live in a hostel in Navi Mumbai where I had an electric hot plate to warm milk and make khichdi). I still remember the taste of that panini and I had everything handy, so I decided to try it out on a Tuesday morning (7am) for my lunch box.

Ingredients: 
For Stuffing
Paneer/Cottage Cheese, small cubes - 1 cup
Bell Peppers, 1" cubed - 1 cup
Onions, 1" cubed - 1 cup
Tandoori Masala - 2 Tbspn
Red Chilli Powder - 1tspn
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1/3 tspn
Coriander Powder - 1 tspn
Yogurt - 1 Tbspn
Salt

For Panini
Bread Slices - 4
Mint Chutney (optional)
Butter to spread on the bread
Cheese, grated - 1 cup (I used 4 cheese blend as it was handy)


Procedure: 
Mix all the ingredients for stuffing and keep aside. Now spread some mint chutney on the bread slices on one side and butter on the other. Heat a pan and add the stuffing mixture to it. Cook it for 5-8mins or till paneer is tender and onions and bell peppers are crisp. Evenly distribute this stuffing to the bread slices with butter side being out and mint chutney on the inside. Now sprinkle some cheese on the stuffing and grill the sandwich till the bread turns golden brown.
Serve this with some ketchup or mint chutney.

Serves - 1 person


Variations: 
Make it a kids favorite by using less masalas and adding more cheese to it. They would definitely love it!

Conclusion:
It tasted just like the Cafe Coffee Day's Paneer Tikka Panini. How I wish I could pay a visit to India to see my Family and friends and hang out at CCD :)

Intense Chocolate Truffle Cake (Gluten Free)

It's been a while I have tried my hand at baking as I don't get many opportunities and time to bake. This weekend I had some time on hand and it was a friend's birthday who has twin babies (4 months old). So I thought of celebrating her birthday at (her) home by taking some food and baking a cake for her. I had to make a decadent chocolate truffle cake knowing that she would like Sugarless cake.
I always try to substitute things I have at home instead of buying something just for the recipe as it saves me time and $$. So I decided to use 4 types of chocolates (which I had at home) - semi-sweet, 60% dark, milk and white chocolate - and it turned out yummilicious! This cake/truffle was a good contender for restaurant style dessert for which I pay $$$. I hope you try making it and love it just like my friend and her family did (couldn't feed the twins as they are very young :( ).

Note: Please use a good quality chocolate for a great experience and restaurant style taste. Enjoy!!!

Ingredients (for 6-8 servings):
For Truffle 
Butter - 1/2 cup
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips - 1cup
60% Dark Chocolate Chips - 2/3cup
Large Eggs, chilled - 4

For Ganache
Heavy Cream - 1/4cup
Any Chocolate Chips - 1/2 cup (I used Dark and Milk)
Corn Syrup - 1Tbspn (This is used for getting a glaze to the ganache, so it is optional)

Garnish:
Milk Chocolate Bar, for curls - 1
White Chocolate Bar, for shaves - 1


Procedure: 

1. Melt the chocolate chips and butter (Truffle ingredients) on a double boiler till they are smooth. Let it sit aside and cool.
2. In the mean time, pre-heat the oven on 350 degrees and then whip the eggs on medium speed for 5-7mins.
3. Now fold the whipped egg (1/4th portion at a time) in the chocolate mixture and mix till it just assimilates.
4. Now grease a cake pan and line it with parchment paper (optional). Pour the batter in the greased pan
5. Prepare a water bath for the cake by filling a large pan (larger than the one used for cake) with hot water (hot tap water can be used) and then placing the cake pan in the water bath. Make sure the water is half way up the sides of the pan.
6. Bake it for 50mins or till the cake is done. When it is done, cool it on a rack (do not remove it from the pan) and then wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight. The next day (or after 7-8 hour) remove the cake from the pan, dip the pan in warm water halfway up the sides and then run a knife around the inside of the pan and then invert it on a plate.
7. Prepare the ganache the next day. Boil the heavy cream and then melt the chocolate chips in it (heat it if need be) till they are smooth. Add the corn syrup and mix well. When the ganache is slightly warm, pour it over the cake to make it look like it is oozing out or you can use an offset spatula to make it look nice and clean.
8. Now use a peeler to make some curls out of the chilled chocolate bar and grate some white chocolate bar over the cake. Play around with the decoration and have fun!

Ganache Poured Over the Chocolate Truffle

The end result. Just Love the glaze over the ganache!

Variations: 
You can use sugar free chocolate bars to make sugar free truffle.
Also, if you don't find chocolate chips, don't get disappointed, you can use chocolate bars and chop them or use a peeler to make curls and use them instead.


Conclusion:
A very decadent and rich chocolate truffle is ready to be devoured :). Dark chocolate contains a large number of anti-oxidants which protects from aging. Also, the eggs are a good supplement of protein. So enjoy the dessert you just made.