Strawberry Jam

Rosie from "Rosie Bakes 'A Peace Of Cake'" is hosting a preserves blogging event called "Putting Up" originated by Pixie at You Say Tomahto, I Say Tomayto. I decided to make small batch of strawberry jam because they are in peek of season right now,I bought 5lbs of fresh berries on Sunday for just 3$.After searched long and hard I found this recipe for making jam without using a pectin. I’ve never made jam before and it turned out pretty good. Very simple to make with few ingredients yet so wonderful.

INGREDIENTS:

Fresh Sliced strawberry - 3cups
Sugar - 1cup
Lemon juice - 1/4cup
Butter - 2tsp

METHOD:

In a medium bowl add the strawberries, sprinkle over all of the sugar and place it in the fridge overnight. Remove from the fridge, bring this mixture to boil in thick pan and allow the sugar to dissolve. Turn down the heat to keep the mixture boiling but watch it carefully as it will bubble up and, if the heat is too high, boil over. If that happens it will become sticky consistency.

Cook for 8-10 mins.Now add the butter,lemon juice and the mixture needs to be cooked till it reaches the jam consistency.

Testing for 'jam consistency' is very important in jam making process. Keep a metal tablespoon sitting in a glass of ice water, then take a half spoonful of the mix and let it cool to room temperature on the spoon. If it starts flowing then the jam is not ready yet. If it doesn’t move, then it is ready, remove from heat immediately.

Now pour the jam into the airtight jar (I bought from IKEA) and close tightly. Another important step is 'process the jars in the boiling water bath'. Putting the jars in the boiling water bath REALLY helps to reduce spoilage. Keep the jars covered with at least 1 inch of water and boil them for 10 mins.

Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a dry place.Once cooled, they're ready to store. Will store in a cool dry place for almost a year.

For video: see here.

Microwave Ginger Carrot Cake

Ginger carrot cake is a sweet spice cake with grated carrot and ginger mixed into the batter. The carrot softens in the cooking process, and the cake usually has a soft, dense texture. The carrots themselves enhance the flavor, texture and appearance of the cake. The combination of ginger and carrot provides a light, moist and flavorful cake. I tried out this delicious cake in microwave and it turned out so soft and fluffy which is quite a pleasant surprise to me.When I make a cake in the microwave I use Tupperware's Heat N Serve containers.There are other microwave containers out there, but I have only tried Tupperware's. But I do know that microwave cakes tend to come out hard when cooked in glass or corningware.

INGREDIENTS:

Sugar - 1 cup
Brown sugar- 1/2 cup
Butter - 1/4cup
Eggs - 2
Salt - 1/2tsp
All purpose flour - 2cups
Baking soda - 2tsp
Vanilla extract - 1tsp
Ground cinnamon - 1/2tsp
Raw finely grated carrots - 1cup
Crushed ginger - 1tsp
Walnuts pieces- 1/4cup

(For butter cream frosting)

Pure cane powdered sugar - 1/2cup
Milk - 1/4cup
Vanilla extract - 1tsp
Sliced Butter (softened) - 1stick

METHOD:

Lightly grease the tupperware with butter. In a mixing bowl, mix sugar, butter, and eggs. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix dry ingredients into wet mixture and blend well. Finally add walnuts, carrot and ginger into the batter. Pour in the greased tupperware and place it on a trivet in microwave oven. Cook for 10 minutes, giving the dish a quarter turn every 3 minutes. Keep rotating the pan 1/4 turn three times until a skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Invert on rack and let cool.

For butter cream frosting beat butter, vanilla and sugar together. For thinner consistency add milk a little at a time. Pour over cake.

Sending these yummy microwave cake to Srivalli who is hosting MEC-Cakes.

Check dear Meera's blog for a different version of Microwave cake.

Let's Celebrate Our Friend's Birthday With American Cheesecake

UPDATE:

Today Divya Vikram of Dilse is celebrating her " " birthday(he he he secret,,)....So let's celebarate her birthday with this cheesecake.Dedicating this one to birthday baby!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIVYA,,,,ENJOY UR SPECIAL DAY....

RECIPE:

Cheesecake is my favorite dessert. When Priya of 365 vegetarian posted her instant strawberry cheesecake recipe, I was pretty much tempted to try it out. I tried out this American Cheesecake recipe with my own modifications. Since I don’t have the spring form pan I used the normal baking pan and I covered the entire pan with foil. And also left some extra outside so that I can lift the cake with the foil once it chills.

INGREDIENTS:

Butter - 1cup
Butter biscuits(crushed) - 11/4 cup
Sugar - 11/4cup
Cream cheese, softened-1/2cup
Heavy whipping cream - 1/2cup
Sweetened Condensed Milk -1cup
Eggs-3
Lemon juice1-2tsp
Sour cream - 1cup
Knox unflavored gelatin - 2tsp
White Jello - 1packet

METHOD:

To prepare the biscuit base mix butter and crushed biscuits (I crushed it in food processor) thoroughly. Place the mix into the pan and press it all down evenly using hands. Place it in a fridge for 15 mins to stiffen.

To make the cheese mixer, in a mixing bowl beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, sour cream and whipping cream until smooth. Dissolve gelatin in a 1/4 cup of boiling water stir it well allow it to cool slightly then add to the mixture. Add eggs then lemon juice and mix well. At last add sugar and beat it.

Now pour the cheese mixture into the pan slowly and evenly.Place it into the lower part of the oven and bake them for 45 mins. When the cheesecake is ready it should be cooked but have wobble consistency.Let it cool down and place it in fridge to set for minimum of 4hours.

For the top prepare the white jello according to the package instructions and pour it slowly on to the cheesecake. Refrigerate until the jelly is set.

Garnish with strawberry.

P.S:I missed the step of adding vanilla essence.And I tried little decorations using whipped cream....Didn't come out well,so removed those:(((((

Palmiers(Little Heart Biscuits)

Palmiers are a traditional French pastry made from rich, buttery, and flaky dough, but not too sweet and crunchy without being too hard.It looks alike Britannia little hearts biscuit which we used to buy in India. Palmier (pal-mee-ay) is the French word for a palm tree and these cookies are said to resemble palm leaf. I adopted the recipe from Ina Graten's"barefootcontessa".I personally don’t like cinnamon flavor to dominant my cookies and so I replaced the cinnamon with powdered nuts (Almonds, cashews). Here we go with the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

Puff pastry sheet – 1
Sugar – 1/2cup(or per taste)
Powdered nuts – 1/2cup

METHOD:

Thaw the puff pastry. In a bowl combine the almond and cashews powder, and sugar. Unfold 1 sheet of the pastry and sprinkle the powdered nut sugar over the top. Then gently spread it with hands and roll the rolling pin over the surface to press the sugar in completely. Repeat the same for the other side too.

Fold the longest side of the pastry inwards by about 2cm and flatten with the rolling pin. Fold both sides over one more, sprinkle again and roll. Lastly fold it completely and roll the rolling pin over for the last time. See here for the step-by-step method. Trim the ends with a knife.

Now cut the folded pastry into thin strips. Then turn them onto one side and chill in for 15 mins. Bake them for 7-8 minutes (time varies depending upon the oven) so it’s better to check them in between, as they tend to be brown very fast due to the sugar. Remove from the oven and turn the pastries over. Bake for 5-7 minutes more or until golden.Let it cool completely. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Seembaal/Junnu

Seembaal/junnu is a tamil/telugu word for a sweet, which is prepared from first day milk of cattle usually cow or buffalo.This is my favourite sweet which i think I am missing here in US.But it was a few days back and when I was blogging saw this delicious recipe for seembal.I loved the idea of using condensed milk and I was so happy to learn we can make it even without lactating milk.Finally I tried this yesterday in home and the taste and texture looks exactly the same as seembal that it almost satisfies our craving. Thought to share with you girls(Guess some of u knew this already). Thanks ramya for the woderful recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

Egg – 2
Whole milk – 11/2 cup
Sweetened condensed milk – 1cup
Black pepper – 1 tsp
Cardamom Powder – 1tsp

METHOD:

Beat the eggs thoroughly. Take a bowl and add egg mixture,condensed milk,whole milk and mix well.Now transfer this mixture into a bowl which fits in your pressure cooker.Sprinkle pepper powder and cardamom powder. Place this bowl in the pressure cooker with little water and cook on low flame for 30-40 minutes without whistle.A knife inserted should come out clean. Cool for few hours in the refrigerator and serve.

For all of us that love real seembaal milk..... it’s now possible to buy it in USA.Milk is called colostrum and sold in most states, where raw milk is sold.It’s a little pricey but it’s worth every penny.They (the one in Fresno, CA ) usually Ups it the same day and it’s at our door by next day(heard from friend).

visit here

Select your state

Search for the word colostrum

Ramya has posted her vegetarian version too..but i tried egg version only..will let u know once i try that..

PEAR CHOCOLET PIE

I rarely eat dessert but last night at restaurant I had a little apple pie and it was served with lemony ice cream. It was super delicious. So I want to bake a pie in home and as well as for AFAM.After goggling for longtime I decided to bake a pear chocolate pie and it was my first time to cook this recipe and surprisingly it turned out good. Hubby was the first one to eat a slice of it then I sliced one for myself. Hmmm...It was so good!!! Hubby requested another slice and also I got another one for myself. The mellow flavor of pears makes this a great Pie!

INGREDIENTS:

Dough:
All purpose flour – 2cups(sifted)
Unsalted butter – 1/4cup
Ice water – 6tsp
Sugar – 2tsp
Salt – 1pinch

Filling:
Bittersweet chocolate chips- 15
Pears(peeled, thinly sliced) – 3
Corn starch – 3tsp
Lemon juice – 2tsp
Sugar – 1/2cup
Cinnamon – 1tsp
Vanilla extract – 1tsp
Salt – 1/4tsp

On top:
Egg yolk - 1
Water – 3tsp
Cream – 2tsp(optional)
Milk –2tsp
Sugar - 2tsp

Pie plate, oiled

METHOD:

Take a large bowl and add salt, sugar to the sifted flour. Add butter to the flour and mix by using fingers. Mix together into coarse crumbs. Drizzle the ice water and make the dough into a smooth ball and make it into a disk. Wrap it in a plastic wrap and place in fridge for 30 minutes. See here in detail.

Remove the pie dough and divide into 2 parts for the upper and lower crust. Sprinkle flour on the surface and roll the dough into a circle of 1/8-inch thickness. Spread the dough in an oiled pie plate with your palm equally. Also spread the dough on top of the edges. Pierce the dough all over with a fork and cover with plastic wrap and keep in fridge. Roll the rest of the dough into another 1/8-inch thick circle for upper crust.

To make a Lattice: Cut the rolled dough into strips with pizza cutter and weave the strips by placing alternately. See here for how to weave lattice top.

Melt the chocolate chips in double boiler or micro oven and spread evenly on cooled crust. Mix sliced pears along with lemon juice. Take Sugar into a bowl and add ground cinnamon, salt, cornstarch, and mix well. Add sliced pears to this.Now place mix over chocolate and fill the pie pan by layering evenly.

Place the lattice top carefully and crimp the edges. Mix all the ingredients for topping. Brush the lattice top lightly with the mix. Cover the rim with aluminum foil to prevent the edges of pie from browning. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Place the pie pan on a flat big baking sheet and bake at 400F for about 20 minutes and then at 350F, for about 30 minutes, until the top turns to golden brown and fruit inside becomes soft and juicy. Do not under bake.Remove and cool. Slice and serve with a scoop of icecream.

A Piece for u with pumpkin ice cream

Sending this delicious pie to AFAM-Pears hosted by The Singing Chef:Raaga and MM-Spring Fruit Sensations by Abby.

RASGULLA

Rasgulla - A very popular Bengali sweet, which is soft, Juicy & Spongy made from milk and the most popular sweet delicacy in Calcutta as well as rest of India and the world.Yesterday I happened to go through the cooking Manual which has been sent by my friend and found this delicious recipe for rasgullas.Immedietly decided to make for RCI.For these we have to make paneer using milk and cook it in sugar syrup. Here we go with the recipe....

INGREDIENTS:

Milk – 1/2gallon
Lemon juice or vinegar – 1/4cup
Sugar – 1cup
Water – 3cups
Saffron (optional)

METHOD:

In a heavy bottomed pan, put milk and bring it to boil. When it starts boiling add lemon juice/vinegar and stir continuously until the milk curdles completely. As soon as you see the water is clear while curling add some ice cubes and switch off the flame to stop the process of curdling. The intention here is to make soft paneer. Let it cool and set. Then drain using a cloth/strainer so that just the solid part remains, looked like paneer.

Hang it under the sink or put the cloth-covered paneer in a bigger bowl, which will collect the water dipping from the mixture. The intention here is to separate the solid curdled milk from the water or liquid part. Keep it for at least a couple of hours and squeeze the excess water by pressing the cloth. Make sure that there must not be any water remaining or the paneer balls, will break when put in sugar water.

When the water is completely drained, remove the paneer from the cloth and take it in a bowl. Now rub it well using your hands to form a smooth mixture. If the paneer is too dry, add a few drops of water, using the water squeezed from the paneer.You have to rub it for a long time to make it really smooth. Make the dough into equal parts and roll each part into a ball taking care to see that there are no cracks on the surface.

For sugar syrup mix the sugar and water in a in a pan on medium high heat and bring to a boil. Add all of the balls in one shot and close the lid. Cook for about seven minutes. Make sure the pan is large enough to accommodate the finished Rasgullas as they will expand to about double their size while cooking in the syrup. Close the heat and wait a few minutes before you open the lid.The Rasgullas should be little spongy. Serve the Rasgulla chilled with sprinkled saffron.

A Spoon for u!

Sending these Rasgullas to RCI-Bengal hosted by Sandeepa of "Bong Mom's cookbook".

JANGRI

Jangri –A famous Indian sweet which look alike jelabi but they have different flavor and texture.Jangiri is made from urad dhal and jelabi is made from Maida flour. This crisp sweet is very famous in the southern states of India. How can we forget the sweet vendors on the street selling hot Jangris!!!!!My mom used to make using separate cloth stitched by our tailor. I got this Ziploc idea when I was goggling sometimes back. Since this was the first time I tried this, I was skeptical of how it would turn out. But it did very well. Easy to make one yet so tasty.

INGREDIENTS:

Urad dal – 1cup
Saffron color – 1pinch
Rice flour – 1tsp
Ziploc bag (for piping)

(For sugar syrup)
Sugar – 1cup
Water – 2cup
Lemon juice – 1/2tsp

Another view to tempt u:)

METHOD:

Soak urad dal for atleast 3 hours. Dissolve sugar in water and bring to boil.Now add 1tsp lemon juice into the syrup to avoid forming crystals.

Drain the water and grind dal into a fine paste in the blender by adding little water. The consistency should become like glue sticking.

Add little bit of rice flour and mix it for 3 –5 mins.Then add saffron color and mix it well. Now a take a Ziploc bag and turn it upside down and make a small hole in the center using a big safetypin or iron nail.

Put the colored mixture and into the ziploc bag and hold nozzle of the ziplog bag(as shown in the pic) just above the surface of the oil, and pipe it to make circles with the batter, starting from the centre and sealing the end in the last half round.. If the oil is too hot the shape wont come. Better practice in an empty plate and then pipe it in oil.

Make sure the temperature of oil is to be low while piping. Deep fry on a medium heat till crispy and golden on both sides. Turn frequently.

Drain the jangries and immerse in warm sugar syrup for a minute, and serve hot or cold.

Arusuvai Food Chain – Coconut Ladoo With clove Tea

The Arusuvai friendship chain has been going on for quite sometime now in India. It was started here, in the US, recently by The Yum Blog, Bhags & Bharathy. I was wondering what would be the surprise ingredient that I would receive from Seema. Finally I got the surprise ingredient yesterday. I guessed the ingredient before opening the package from the smell which spreads everywhere in my mailbox and apartment. It was a small package of cloves (kirambu) with a friendly note. Thank you seema for sending such a nice ingredient over.

My hubby was nagging for a long time for ladoos.Really I want to make something different so I added Coconut and rava to make ladoo and it came out very well and we thoroughly enjoyed it with a cup of clove(kirambu) tea. Both recipes are easy to make and you’ll be amazed by its taste. Here are the recipes how I made them….

INGREDIENT:
(For Coconut ladoo):

Rava(sooji) - 1/2cup
Grated Coconut – 1cup
Sugar – 2cups
Milk – 1cup
Cardamom powder - 1tsp
Cashews - 10 (fried in ghee)
Raisins – 10(fried in ghee)cloves – 4
Ghee – 1/2tsp

Method:

Pour ghee in a kadai. Fry cashew and raisins until till golden brown color and keep aside. Fry sooji in the remaining ghee. After the sooji is fried add the grated coconut also and fry for 2 minutes.

Add milk to the pan. The consistency should become watery. Grind sugar and the fried cashews(5) into a smooth powder .Now add this powder to the milk. Keep stirring it till becomes thick. It takes about 30-40 mins to become thick.

It has to become thick enough to make rounds balls with hand. Remove from the fire and add the remaining cahews,raisins and cloves.Cool it and make this mixture into small round balls it by pressing gently with your hand.

Serve with hot tea or allow to cool and keep in airtight dry container.

CLOVE TEA:

Clove tea is good for health and has been used by the Chinese to treat indigestion. Cloves are stimulating and aid digestion and this is used to break up intestinal gas and to treat nausea and heartburn. This makes a strong flavored tea. If it’s too strong for your taste dilute it, or start with a smaller amount of cloves and gradually increase. You might enjoy the Clove Tea recipe below as well.

INGREDIENT:

Tea powder – 3tsp
Milk – 1cup
Sugar – 3tsp
Sukku(dry ginger) – 1tsp
Pepper – 1tsp
Clove – 5
Cardamom powder –1/2tsp
Cinnamon – 1tsp

METHOD:

Grind cloves, cardamom and cinnamon and make it as a powder. Bring water to boil. Add tea powder in to water. Now add sukku and allow boil it for 2 mins.Then add cloves,cardamom,cinnamon and pepper one by one and boil for another 2 mins. Cover and let simmer for few minutes. Add sugar, milk and stir for another mins. Steep for 5 minutes. Pour through filter to remove spices. Enjoy with delicious snacks......

I am passing on the Arusuvai Friendship Chain to a couple of my friends ....

Cham from Spice club

Sagari from Indian cooking

Divya from Dilse

Enjoy everybody as the Arusuvai Friendship Chain continues......Cham-mailed you the stuff today morning..Sagari and divya will mail you the stuff tomorrow and confirm it with you girls. Hope you like your secret ingredients!Good luck and expecting the superb dishes you will come up with...

Pomegranate Yogurt Dip With Banana

This is yet another pomegranate recipe…when I was looking for Pomegranate recipes in the net I could find only smoothie or salads. My friend used to add banana in yogurt, which is the great dessert after had such a heavy meal. So I decided to give myself a try of adding pomegranates in yogurt with bananas. It turned out very well and I got good feedback from my hubby. Takes only few minute to prepare and great way to end the meal.



INGREDIENTS:

Pomegranate arils - 1/2cup
Banana – 1
Fresh pomegranate juice – ¼ cup
Chilled plain yogurt – 1cup
Sugar – ¼ cup
Mint springs for garnishing

METHOD:

Prepare juice from one fresh pomegranate. Separate 1/2 cup of the arils from fruit and keep aside.
Cut the bananas into small round shapes.
In a medium-mixing bowl combine yogurt, sugar and blend well. Now add juice and banana and stir well.
Now place the arils into this mixture and refrigerate for 30 mins.
Transfer the dip to a serving bowl and garnish with mint sprigs.

This post is my contribution to sra who is hosting AFAM-Pomegranate started by maheswari of beyond the usual

Lemon Hearts

I have something special about Valentines Day. Believe it or not since my husband was here (US), I met him only five days before of our marriage on this special day.I got a memorable gift and I didn’t give him anything as all women do:). (He wants me to mention this line particularly)Though we didn't meet we used to chat in Google talk, which laid strong foundation for both of us to understand each other better. Since that time I have known him, he has been the most understanding person in this world. So in this our Second Valentines Day I just wanted to surprise him by presenting this hearts. Here we go with the recipe…

INGREDIENTS:

All Purpose Flour – 2cups
Freshly squeezed lemon juice– 3tsp
Grated Lemon Rind – 3tsp
Sugar – ½ cup
Yogurt – 1/2cup
Butter – 1 slice
Egg – 3
Baking powder – 2tsp
Soda salt – 1tsp
Heart shaped foil cups
Beats (for decorating)

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl mix sugar and butter with wood spoon.

In another bowl beat eggs well. Now add curd, lemon juice and rind with this mixture and mix well.

Mix flour, baking powder and soda salt in a separate bowl and mix in all together as a batter.

Now pour in a buttered baking foil cups and bake for 30mins.

Let it warm and serve with sugar coated hearts.

These hearts go to Zorra's 'A heart for your Valentine' event and Pooja who is hosting Theme of the week – Valentine’s Day

And also I am sending these lemon hearts to JFI-Lemon/Lime by The spice cafe.

Papaya Halwa

When i started thinking of papaya recipes halwa came into my mind.I used ripe papaya here....I dropped my plan of adding color powder since it ended up with this nice color.Here we go with this colorful recipe...

INGREDIENTS:

Ripe papaya(medium size) - 1
Sugar - 2 cup
Ghee - 4-5 tsp
cashew - 10 nos
cardamon powder- 1/2 tsp
milk - 1 cup

METHOD:

Make cashew into small pieces. Fry the cashews in ghee and keep aside.Boil the milk for 15-20 minitues in medium heat until gets thick.Heat one tbsp ghee in a pan, add the papaya pulps and fry till the smell vanishes.Cook it in medium heat and stir occasionally for 5 minutes.Now add the milk and boil it until milk evaporates,then add the sugar and stir continuously in low heat.Now add the remaining ghee and stir on low heat till the mixture collects in a soft ball or the ghee oozes out.Serve with decorated cashews and cardamon powder.

This post is my entry to AFAM hosted by Nags....

Carrot halwa

Carrot halwa is a very nutritious and tasty indian sweet dish. Carrot is very important for growing children. For children who do not like to eat carrot either raw or cooked, you can try giving this sweet dish and they will ask you more.

INGREDIENTS:

Carrot - 1/2 kg
Sugar - 2 cup
Ghee - 4-5 tsp
cashew - 10 nos
cardomom powder- 1/2 tsp
milk - 1 cup

METHOD:

Grate the carrots and keep aside.Heat ghee in a thick vessel. Make cashew into small pieces. Fry the cashews in ghee and keep aside.Boil the milk for 15-20 minitues in medium heat .Once it starts thickening, stir continuously.Put little ghee in a pan and add the grated carrots.cook it in medium heat and stir occassionally for 5 mintues.Now add the milk and boil it untill milk evaporates,then add the sugar and stirr continously in low heat .Now add the remaining ghee and stir on low heat till the mixture collects in a soft ball or the ghee oozes out.Serve with decorated cashews and cardomom powder.