Tiramisu

And the time has come when I post the recipe of the God of all Desserts, TIRAMISU, on my food blog. I have relished this dessert many a times but my love towards it grew when I tasted it in the very own Italy. The lush layered dessert made me feel like an angel with wings flying up and above, reaching the clouds. I truly felt like am in heaven & heaven was in my mouth. No wonder, Tiramisu means "Pick me Up"!! I was on a hunt to get the original ingredients to make it at home so our good old friend Maria Ferreto came to my rescue and not only she shared her original recipe with me but also gave me the original ingredients straight from Italy. I was delighted!!

This is a very delicate yet an easy dessert recipe with an explosion of various tastes bursting in your mouth. The coffee liquer soaked savoairdi biscuits, the soft cheesy custard, a hint of Marsala wine strumming your taste buds & finally a coat of chocolaty cocoa.....its all in there in the Luxury Tiramisu.

I have used my friend Maria's Spanish unsweetened cocoa powder which she had bought it from Spain & also the original Savoiardi biscuits.

You can substitute the biscuits with any sponge fingers & use any coffee liqueur instead of Marsala wine, but if you need to make the authentic version, stick to this recipe. Also before going to the recipe, let me tell you that this recipe is not suitable for pregnant ladies as the eggs are not cooked at any stage.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs (yolks & whites separated in two different bowls) eggs should be kept at room temperature
• 100 gm caster sugar plus 2 tsp extra
• 500 gm mascarpone cheese
• 1 pack or 20 savoiardi biscuits (italian sponge fingers/ladyfingers)
• 250 ml fresh black coffee
• 6 tbsp marsala wine (can use tia maria/kahlua or any other coffee liqueur)
• cocoa powder for dusting

Method:

1. Beat the egg yolks & 100 gm of caster sugar together in a bowl with an electric beater until pale & little stiff.
2. Now add the Mascarpone cheese to it & beat until smooth. Then add 3 tbsp of marsala wine to it & mix again. Keep it in the fridge.
3. Now whisk the egg whites till stiff peaks form. Add in 2 tsp of sugar to it when the peaks are about to be formed.
4. Take out the Mascarpone mixture from the fridge & fold in the egg white peaks to it. Gently mix the mixture with a flat spoon or spatula. Tiramisu mixture is ready.
5. Mix the fresh coffee, 1 tsp of sugar & 3 tbsp of marsala wine together in a bowl.
6. Take a rectangular glass dish & keep it near the coffee-wine bowl.
7. Soak the Savoiardi biscuits in the coffee mixture one by one & line them up in the rectangular dish in such a way that the biscuits should be the first & base layer.
8. Now cover the biscuits generously with the Tiramisu mixture or custard. This will be your second layer.
9. Now sprinkle the cocoa powder on top of the custard.
10. Repeat another layer of coffee soaked biscuits, then custard & finally a generous sprinkle of cocoa powder.
11. Now cover the Tiramisu & place it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2-3 hours. Cut it out to the base, to get all the layer of your lush TIRAMISU!! :)

Rava Laddoo (Sweet Semolina Balls)

As soon as September comes, I begin to miss India more than ever. All the festivities, fun, frolic begins from this month. Right from Ganesh Chathurthi, Onam, then to Navaratri, Dussera and ending on a high note with the Super Diwali night, it is a real treat to watch these Celebrations happening through out the country. And I feel so aloof from all the festive fun & moreover feel sad to miss all those lip smacking sweet dishes which are made during these days. :(

But am a girl who doesn't give up that easily. I have decided to have the same fun over here too with a little customization from the usual ;) I brought Lord Ganesha home on the Ganesh Chathurthi Day & will be treating him UK style for the next 10 days. Milk, fruits, sundal, kheer, laddoos & modaks are on my menu for him. :) Though Keralites don't celebrate in a grand scale like this, but I love to Celebrate it in the same way as the Maharashtrians do.

One of my offerings to Lord Ganesha was Rava Laddoos & am gonna share this easy recipe to you all. A Laddoo is an Indian Sweet which is usually made out of a combination of fried gram flour or Semolina, dry fruits & sugar & finally making it into a nice round ball. Laddoos are a must have sweet during the Festival Season. For those who are thinking, this will be one hell of a job....Stop thinking so. It will be ready within half an hour & no special skill is needed. If I can, then you very well can!! ;)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rava / sooji / semolina
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup fresh grated coconut or desiccated coconut
• 1/4 cup unsalted cashew nuts & golden raisins together (break the cashews with your hands)
• 2-3 crushed cardamoms
• 1/4 cup ghee (clarified butter)

Method:

1. Heat a deep, heavy based pan & pour the ghee into it. When the ghee gets slightly hot, put in the broken cashew nuts & raisins. Fry well till the raisins puff up.
2. Now add the grated coconut into it. Fry for a minute. The heat from now on should be in medium.
3. Now add the Rava/Semolina into the pan and stir well for 10 minutes until the rava gets light golden evenly and gives out a roasted smell. Make sure that the rava should not get burnt. You need to stir it well & continuously.
4. After 10 minutes, add in the sugar to the pan & mix well with the rava. Simmer the heat. Stir everything together for a further 2 minutes. Switch off the heat.
5. Now take a tea spoon & pour the milk little by little into the rava mixture. Incorporate the milk into the rava & mix the mixture well until you feel that the mixture can now be made into lime size balls. You may need less or more milk to add into the rava mixture. But usually 1/2 cup will be an exact measure.
6. Leave the mixture for 2-3 minutes to let it cool. Then take a table spoon of the mixture to your hands & make a nice round golf/lime size ball. Repeat until all the mixture is finished.
7. Rava Laddoos are ready to be gobbled. ;) The more you keep the laddoos, the more tighter & drier it gets. But as soon as you take the first bite, it will be all soft inside.

Link it & Tag it

Its always a great feeling and a moment of pride when some one appreciates your work and rewards you. It is the same in case of Blogging too. When I started to blog a few months back (its almost 8 months now), I never knew, that I am entering into a whole new world of "Bloggyland"!! Thousands of Bloggers writing a post each day and you are just another small fish in the big Blogging ocean. I was mesmerized to see some bloggers write so beautifully, some click amazing pictures for their post & some highly skilled in their presentation. But when they appreciate your small effort, your collar gets a little high. ;)

The simple e-awards which I received for my blog was so motivating that it made me stick on to what I am doing and a bit more. "Tagging" a blog is the new way of awarding a blogger & am very fortunate that I have been TAGGED by Kim Burtland aka Kimby of alittlelunch.com Please do visit her website for the wonderful clicks, great writing, delicious recipes & her experiences in her own words. Thank you Kimby for "Tagging" me!! ;)

The whole idea of Tagging is to share seven posts from your blog in separate category. This is a great way to promote one's blog!! And am all ready.

1. Most Beautiful Post: Am not good at photography, neither do I have an SLR but for me the most beautiful post would be Caramel Custard
2. Most Popular Post: So far I have posted 84 recipes on my blog, but the simple Cafe Latte takes the top spot even after 8 months.Its the most viewed out of all.
3. Most Controversial Post: I don't write about Politics or any other sensitive topics...I write about FOOD and there is nothing controversial about it, hence I will put my favourite post out of the 84. Pista Kulfi
4. Most Helpful Post: Now what do I put here??? I have always been asked to put the recipes of Kerala Sadya dishes & many view the these dishes in my post quite regularly, so am linking the entire Category "Kerala Sadya" itself instead of one post.
5. Post whose success surprised you: Many actually, but I guess, I will go with Thai Style Sea Bass
6. Post that didn't get much attention it deserved: There are plenty of them, I guess each one of my recipe...;) But I will go with Chicken Fricassee. Its one of the delicious European style Chicken Stew that I have ever tasted.
7. Post that am most proud of: I am proud of almost all my posts but if you ask me to pick one, it will be a tough choice. Nepalese Momo & Tomato Chutney is very close to my heart as this was the first time I ever made momos & came out yummy yum. Not an appealing picture but promise you that I will upload step by step pics when I make it again.

In case, you have missed these posts on my blog, please do surf through it. Am happy to share it with you all. Now let me pass this tagging trend of "Share 7 posts from your blog" to my favourite bloggers. The following blogs are TAGGED:

1. http://yourstastefully.blogspot.com/

2.http://usmasala.blogspot.com/

3.http://tadkapasta.wordpress.com/

4.http://ameessavorydish.blogspot.com/

5.http://www.kaarasaaram.com/

6.http://thegreenogre.blogspot.com/

7.http://personalfoodjournal.blogspot.com/

8.http://mummyicancook.blogspot.com/

Eat, Drink & Be Merry!!

Tandoori Chicken (Indian BBQ Chicken)

Hello Everyone! Its been a really long time sine I posted any dish on my blog. I was busy holidaying and lazying around for the past 3 weeks. I have umpteen number of dishes to post on the blog but was not getting time to put any of it. I was pre-occupied with the household chores, had been to my friend's place for a few days, then witnessed a Live Cricket Match in a stadium. My schedule was hectic but truly fun filled. I was in no mood to touch the Laptop after that. And now starts the Festive season of Indians . So am busy cooking up sweet dishes, every alternate day. I have a whole lot of pending recipes to show you all & I don't know where to start from. But for now, let me post my first pending dish which was in the queue for quite some time now. TANDOORI CHICKEN!! Any Indian Blog is missing something, if the blogger hasn't posted a recipe of India's most popular & Internationally renowned dish.... "Tandoori Chicken". ;)

"Tandoor", in Hindi is a name given to the deep, round clay oven, where pieces of charcoal or wood is burnt to cook the food. In short, it is the Indian Bar-Be-Que. But it needs a special skill to cook food in a Tandoor. And the Punjabis know it very well. Any North Indian, Non Vegetarian feast is incomplete without a dish of Tandoori Chicken. The meat or other veggies or even bread cooked in a Tandoor has its unique smoky taste unlike other grilled oven cooking. The high temperature, slow cooking of food enhances the flavour of it & this taste can only be described by a person who has truly relished it in the most traditional way.

Now one cannot have a Tandoor at home, hence in this recipe, the chicken is marinated in yoghurt and other herbed spices just like the traditional way, but cooked in the oven grill.

Ingredients:

• 4 thigh cum legs of chicken (skin removed)
• 1/2 cup yoghurt
• 3 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp of coriander powder
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• juice of 1 lemon
• 25 gm butter (room temperature)
• 1/4 tsp of red food colour (compulsory, if you need to make the perfect Tandoori Chicken)
• salt to taste (use a bit more than your usual measure)

Garnish:

• 1 large onion (finely sliced lengthwise or round)
• 1 lemon (cut in 4 parts)

Method:

1. Clean the chicken pieces & make 3-4 slits on both the sides of the chicken with the help of a knife. Keep aside.
2. Take a medium sized bowl & mix in all the other ingredients (except the chicken & butter) mentioned above. This will be your marinade for the mixture.
3. Marinate the chicken pieces with this mixture. Make sure the marinade gets well inside the slit made in the chicken. Cover the chicken and keep it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or a maximum of 6 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 250 Degree Celsius and turn the oven into grill mode.Meanwhile take out the chicken from the refrigerator & coat the butter over the chicken pieces.
5. Place the chicken pieces on the racks of the oven & grill them for a minimum of 30 minutes to a maximum of 40 minutes.
6. Turn the chicken pieces to the other side after the 20th minute.
7. I keep it for 40 minutes, and the Chicken is perfectly cooked by then. Take out the chicken pieces and allow it to cool.
8. You can serve the chicken immediately with finely sliced onions topped over it & lemon squeezed on top.
9. But if your chicken is cooked a bit early before your supper, you can always heat the chicken again on a flat griddle for 5 minutes on each side. Place the sliced onions along with the chicken on the griddle. This will help you get that smoky effect of a Tandoor.

- Serve it hot as an Appetizer or as an Accompaniment. Mouthwatering indeed!!

Have sent this recipe to yummyfood-khushi@blogspot.com for the event "What's on your Kebab Platter"