Pinks Recipe Diary

Chocolate Hearts

Pinks Recipe Diary — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:21:25 +0000

These come with a surprise punch in it and serve them to your guest and watch their expressions…..I added some salt and chilli powder to the melted chocolate and who ever tasted it was in for a surprise. The chilli kicks in at the last in the throat and loved these mini hearts. There is a no recipe as such but here goes.

Chocolate Hearts

Ingredients

Dark Chocolate 200gms

1/2 tsp Chilli powder

1/8 tsp Salt

Method

Melt Chocolate in a double boiler and add Chilli Powder and salt and stir gently.

Pour them into heart shaped moulds and tap the moulds nicely so that there are no air bubbles.

Set in the fridge for half hour.

Tap them lightly and remove the hearts.

A heart for a person you love.

Chocolate Loaf Cake

Pinks Recipe Diary — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:49:27 +0000

A simple chocolate loaf cake which is so rich in taste and is a treat for all the chocolate lovers. All the chocolate lovers do try this as it is a simple bake and comes out great as well.

Chocolate Loaf Cake

Recipe Source : Collaborative Curry

Ingredients

Butter 1/2 cup

Sugar 1 1/2 cup

Flax Meal 1 Tbsp mixed in 1 tbsp water

Buttermilk 1 cup

Vanilla Extract 1 tsp

All purpose Flour- 1 1/2 cup

cocoa powder- 3/4 cup

Baking soda- 1/4 tsp

Baking powder- 1/2 tsp

Method:

Preheat oven at 180 c

Grease a loaf pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until creamy, Add Flax meal and beat well.

Mix vanilla and buttermilk. Beat well to mix

Sift the flour,cocoa,soda,baking powder and salt directly into this wet mixture.

Stir everything together nicely.

Pour this batter into the loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes at 180c or insert a tooth pick and check whether done.

Rest for some time and remove from the tin.

Serve warm .

Pinks Notes:

The loaf cake was a bit too sweet for my taste so next time , i will reduce it to 1 1/4 cup or less.

A drizzle of Chocolate sauce or Nutella will be a great accompaniment to this.

Have Fun Eating!

Kal Dosai / Set Dosa

Pinks Recipe Diary — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:38:11 +0000

Sometimes even if you have time on hand, you dont utilize it and as i tell always i am a real lazy bum and sometimes hates myself for it. I had preared these dosas a week back and planned to post it before 24th as that was the date for the Taste and Create. This time i was back with them after a break of some months and so wanted to be prompt in posting, but my moods had other plans and hence the delay, sorry min and will surely make it before the deadline from next time. This month i am paired with Veena of Veg Juction and have prepared these beauties.

Dosa’s are a regular fare in my home and have followed her recipe completely.

Kal Dosai/Set Dosa

Ingredients

Raw rice 1 cup

Par boiled Rice 1 cup

Udad Dal 1/2 cup

Fenugreek seeds 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Ghee to cook

Method.

Soak both the rice together in water for 3 hours

Soak the dal for 3 hours

Soak the Fenugreek seeds in little water for the same time

Wash the soaked dal well, drain the water and grind it into a very smooth fluffy batter with minimum water.

Wash the rice and drain out the water. Grind it with the fenugreek seeds with the water that is soaked in. It givs a tremendous amount of flavour to the Dosai. Grind it to a very smooth batter

Mix both the batters nicely by adding salt.

Cover the batter and leave it to ferment overnight.

Next day, Heat a Tawa,Pour a ladle full of batter into it,do not spread the batter as it will spread by itself.

Spread ghee all around the dosa and cook for a minute.

Serve hot with chutney of your choice.

I sprinkled some dry chutney powder on the dosa while it was cooking, this is the way sakshi likes it.

This is off to Taste And Create February Edition.

Bagels – My 1st Attempt!

Pinks Recipe Diary — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:43:38 +0000

What is your experience in baking, do you enjoy it, do you look forward to bread baking and the whole measuring, kneading and waiting process. I am like that, i love doing breads at home and enjoy the whole part. It is a pleasure to see dough rise and aha the final product fresh out of the oven is a real treat. Here i declare I am in love with baking breads.

Some days back through some random blog, i came across this site Fresh From the Oven, It is a monthly event where in a particular bread has to be baked by all the members, they had started this way back in 2009 and till now the members have baked a plethora of breads. So i jumped in to this and was so happy to be a part of this. This months challenge is bagels and till now i have never seen them here in Mysore or have never tasted them, but took this as a challenge and went ahead with the recipe.

Here i have to tell that this was my least liked bread coz according to be it is a very hard and dense bread with a very chewy texture,and it has a completely different method of baking as well, the dough balls are dunked in boiling water and then baked which results in a very dense and chewy bread. But I am happy that i tried some new bread this time and if you have eaten bagels earlier and love the dense and chewy breads do give it a try.

Bagels

Recipe Source King Arthur Flour

Makes 8 small Bagels

Ingredients

For Dough

All Purpose Flour 2 cups

Eagle Active Instant Yeast 1/2 tbsp

1tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

3/4 cup water + more if only reqd.

For Water Bath

3 cups water

2 tbsp Sugar

Toppings

Poppy Seeds

Sesame Seeds

Method.

Add yeast and sugar in 3/4 cup warm water and let proof for 10 mins.

In a bowl mix salt and flour nicely.

Add the yeast mixture and mix nicely to form a dough.

The dough will be a bit stiff when compared to most your regular breads, it wont be a sticky dough.

Transfer the dough to a clean surface and knead the dough nicely for 5-6 mins.

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and let rest till it doubles. It took 45 mins.

Divide the dough into 8 balls and place them on a baking sheet. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 20 mins.

Heat the water in a wide pan by adding sugar.

Preheat oven to 200c

Keep a baking tray ready and sprinkle cornmeal or semolina all over the tray.

The main part is to shape the bagels, here is how the site mentions “Use your index finger to poke a hole through the center of each ball, then twirl the dough on your finger to stretch the hole till it’s about 2 inches in diameter (the entire bagel will be about 4 inches across). Place each bagel on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.”

If you find this method a bit difficult, what you can also do is take the dough ball and roll it into a rope and then tuck the edges, i did try this but was not very happy with the shape so went ahead with the method mentioned above.

Very gently put the bagels to the simmering water and cook them for 90 secs.

Remove them one by one with a slotted spoon and place them on a baking tray.

Sprinkle the poppy seeds and the sesame seeds on the top and then bake them for 20 mins at 200c

The bagels were seemed to be ready at this time but were not browned on the top very nicely so I usually use the grill mode for 2-3 mins for the top to get a light brown color.

Serve them warm with butter, cream cheese ar any condiment of your choice.

Pinks Notes

This is the basic recipe and you can make it into a sweeter version as well by adding some cinnamon , raisin and extra sugar in the basic dough.

Toppings can also be changed according to your taste.

You can sandwich the bagels and fill them with cream cheese and cucumber with salt and pepper for a savory version.

Whipped cream can also be sandwiched between the bagels.

So have fun eating and trying these.

These are off to Fresh From The Oven Challenge which is been hosted by Purely Food.

Paneer Capsicum N Cheese Toast

Pinks Recipe Diary — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 05:25:39 +0000

For me breakfast is a very important meal of the day and i hate to have the same breakfast every day n week so i always try to prepare something different which is good in taste and which is liked by the 3 of us at home. This is a very easy sandwich toast recipe and a very fulfilling breakfast or snack as well. Do try this easy peasy wholesome breakfast.

Paneer Capsicum N Cheese Toast

Makes 4 toast

Ingredients

Bread Slices 8

Paneer Crumbled 1/2 cup

Onion 1 small thinly sliced

Capsicum 1 Finely Chopped

Amul Cheese Slice 2 cut into squares

Salt

pepper 1 tsp

Butter as reqd.

Method

In a bowl mix paneer , Onion,capsicum , cheese, salt n pepper and mix.

Take a bread slice, spread the mixture evenly in generous quantity and cover it another bread slice.

Spread butter on both the sides and toast in a toaster till nicely crisped and brown.

You can do the same method on a tava as well, after applying the butter, place the bread on a hot tava and press nicely with a spatula and cook on both sides.

Have these hot with Tomato Ketchup!

Pinks Notes

Many add ons can be done to the basic toast, I sometimes spread some mint chutney on the base then then placed the filling.

Adding some finely chopped g.chillies will also give a nice spicy kick to these toast.

Remember the Creamy Curd Dip, i spread that on the base of the sandwich before the filling and then toasted it.

Cooking is all all about you, so cook according to your taste.

Happy Toasting:)

My 1st Chocolate Tart N 10000 Views.

Pinks Recipe Diary — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:35:20 +0000

As I have told before as well blogging has been fun, it is so gr8 to visit so many wonderful blogs and to realize that people do visit my blog as well. When i started my blog , i dint wanted to achieve anything or you know go famous with my blog, it was just for my love of cooking that i started it. The name Recipe Diary was kept only coz I have tons of diaries where in have jotted down my recipes. Like most bloggers i love cooking and love to prepare new recipes as well and it feels great to share it with other people as well. So thanx to all the people who took time to peep into my blog and take some time out to comment on my blog as well. A Special mention has to be given to Harini And Simran, as these 2 ladies are the inspiration for my blog, theirs are the 1st blogs i had discovered on the web and love them for the encouragement they have given with their kind feedback as well. So here’s a toast to my blog for its 10000 Views.

I cooked these delicious chocolate tarts to celebrate this occasion e a nice base and they stated quiet well in the fridge as well after pouring the filling in it. Bite into these crunchy and flaky tarts an chocolate filling.These tarts have been in my mind from a long time, actually from the day simran had posted this recipe, but dint have tart molds on hand and only recently did i get these mini tart moulds and this is my 1st experiment with preparing tarts. These are the best tarts for a chocolate lover as the filling contains only Chocolate Ganache. Do try to indulge in these sweet bites.

Chocolate Tart

Recipe Source Bombay Foodie

Ingredients

30 gms butter

1 tsp oil

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp water

1/3 cup flour

For the Chocolate Filling

1/4 cup Dark Chocolate Chips

1/3 cup Amul Cream

Method.

In a pan mix butter, oil, sugar and water and heat the whole mixture till the butter melts and slightly browns itself.

Take the pan off the heat and add 1/3 cup flour and mix the whole mixture till it forms a ball.

Spoon the mixture into 2 small tart moulds and spread around lightly with a spatula.

When cooled down to handle, pat it on the shell and all around then the edges as well.

Prick it a fork and bake in a preheated oven at 160c for 1 5 mins or until starts to brown a bit.

Let these tart shells cool down in the fridge for an hour.

For the chocolate ganache, add 1/4 chocolate chips into a bowl and place this on a pan filled with water.(the double boiler method)

Add the cream on top of the chips and when the chocolate starts to melt mix the whole mixture till it is nice and smooth.

Pour this ganache over the tarts and chill for some more hours.

Demould from the tart pan and enjoy these sweet delicacies.

Pinks Notes

In the original recipe , simran is specifically called for unsalted butter but as I didn’t have that on hand, i have used salted butter so increased the qty of sugar to 2 tsp.

I personally loved the flavour of the sweet and salt tart, but if you have unsalted butter go ahead with it.

I can imagine so many different fillings for the tart that you will find many more mini tarts recipes here.

This tart is off to Bake fest 4 hosted by Anusha of Tomato Blues and started by vardhini of Zesty Palette

This is also off to the sweet luv valentine event hosted again by Vardhini of Zesty Palette

Garlic Bread Rolls

Pinks Recipe Diary — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:26:20 +0000

Am i on a baking spree..surely it looks like that, enjoying the success of freshly baked bread at home and so happy to gorge on them as well. This recipe is on my to do recipes from the longest time i remember, at last tried them and they were really holy yum. The flavor of garlic in freshly baked rolls was so heavenly and it was devoured as soon as out of the oven with a hot cup of masala chai. Lets straight dive into the recipe and let me warn you that once you prepare these you wont be able to stop yourself from having more….

Garlic Bread Rolls

Recipe Source : Edible Garden

Ingredients

All purpose Flour 11/2 cup

1/2 tbsp Eagle Instant Active yeast

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1/2 cup cup warm water

Oil 2 tbsp

For The garlic Butter Filling

Butter 50 gms

Garlic 6 cloves grated

Coriander leaves couple of tbsp

R.chilli Flakes 1 tsp

Sesame Seeds 2tsp

Ready to be baked in the oven

Method

Filling.

Mix all the ingredients except the sesame seeds and keep aside.

Add yeast and sugar to 1/2 cup warm water and let it proof for 5 mins.

Mix flour, salt nicely and the yeast mixture and oil and mix nicely and form a dough.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead the dough nicely for 5-6 mins till it is smooth.

Sprinkle litlle more flour in the starting if the dough is very sticky while kneading.

Transfer to a bowl and cover the bowl and let it rest till it doubles in size which will take approx 1 hr.

After 1 hr, punch down the dough and make a ball.

Roll it into a rectangular shape with the help of some flour and spread the filling generously.

Roll it nicely and cut it into 8 pieces.

Transfer these to a baking sheet and spread the remaining filling all over and sprinkle the sesame seeds on the top.

Let rest again for 1/2 hr and then bake in a preheated oven for 15 mins at 180c.

Gorge them when they are fresh out of the oven and be delighted in its wondrous taste and dont forget to pat your back for baking something good.

Pinks Notes.

Be Creative and you can change the filling ingredients, next time i am planning on adding some cheese , or paneer , or even different herbs like rosemary or thyme.

Yeast is very important part in bread baking and try the ones available and use them accordingly.\

After many attempts the Eagle Instant dried yeast works for me. They come in small sachets and have always given me great results.

Happy Baking!

Tomato Onion Chutney

Pinks Recipe Diary — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 07:54:59 +0000

This chutney I had prepared sometime back to accompany dosa’s along with the coconut chutney i usually prepare. I prepare a lot of different type of dosas at home, so I always try to prepare different chutney to pair with it. This has a lovely tang taste to it coz of the tomatoes and has a lovely flavour as well. Do try this version as it and it surely will be a regular feature in your menu.

Tomato Onion Chutney

Recipe Source : Raks Kitchen

Ingredients

Onion 1

Tomatoes 2

R.chillies 4

Chana Dal 1 tbsp

Coconut Grated 2 tbsp

Oil 2 tsp

Salt to taste

For Tempering

Oil 1 tsp

Mustard Seeds 1 tsp

Urad Dal 1 tsp

Curry leaves 5 leaves

Dry Red Chilli 1

Method

Chop Onion and Tomatoes into big pieces.

Heat oil in a pan, Add chana dal and saute till light brown, then add red chillies and fry them till it turns a bit dark in color.

Set aside.

In the same pan, add the onions and tomatoes and saute them nicely till the tomatoes turns soft.

Cool and blend to a paste along with the chana dal, r.chillies, grated coconut and salt.

Add little spoonfuls of water to get into a smoother consistency.

Transfer to a serving bowl.

Prepare the tempering with the ingredients mentioned and pour over the chutney.

Serve with Idli or Dosa of your choice.

Would love to know what are the different type of chutneys you prepare for idli’s and Dosa’s?

Baguette…….A Home Baked Bread

Pinks Recipe Diary — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:48:31 +0000

Bread baking is the the most fulfilling kitchen experience according to me…..all the bread bakers will agree with me. I have tried my hands at bread baking and it is so satisfactory to see your bread rise well and being enjoyed by everybody at home. I have tried quiet some breads and while some have been disastrous as well…..some have been equally great. I have been bought up eating the plain white sandwich bread and the world of blogging has introduced me to bread baking. My 1st bread at home was a couple of years back when i 1st stumbled on Harini’s Blog and was so very awed by her recipes and tried Focaccia for the 1st time. had been so happy with the result and then was on a baking spree at that time where i tried many more. That was the last of my baking experience. It is only recently that i have started baking breads again and my 1st bread baking after ages was a baguette.

What is a baguette? A Baguette is a thin loaf of french bread which has a crispy crust and a chewy texture. before trying my hand at this bread, i went ahead and purchased one from the market to see the taste and texture. The bread was so long it took me ages to finish it off. This recipe is from Saee’s Blog My Jhola , isnt it a lovely name and it is a equally lovely blog as well…..Plz do hop over there and her videos are a must watch. They are so simple but so pleasing to watch. Here goes the recipe.

Dont let the photo deter you, i was so happy with the bread that forgot to take pics of the bread , these were the last slices i had ….

Baguette

Recipe Source My Jhola

Ingredients

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

1 tsp Eagle Instant Dry yeast

1 tbsp Sugar

1/2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp poppy seeds

1 tsp melted butter (For spreading while baking)

3/4 to 1 cup warm water

Method

Add yeast and sugar to 3/4 cup water. Let rest for 5 mins to proof where the whole mixture will rise.

In a wide bowl mix flour and salt nicely, add the yeasty mixture and form a dough.

This dough should be sticky and soft. Add little more water if only required.

The next step is kneading the dough and i usually do this on my cooking surface.

Flour the surface and transfer the dough here and knead very nicely for at least 8-10 mins.

Sprinkle some flour in between at the starting so that the dough wont stick much.

After about 5 minutes of kneading , the dough wont stick to the surface but will have turned to a smooth one.

Place this in a bowl again and rest the dough till double in size which took 45 mins for me.

Punch the dough down and shape the dough to a thin long loaf shape. (Do check this King Arthur flour Site for step by step pic and great tips as well)

Transfer this to a baking tray and let rest for 20 mins.

Preheat oven at 180 c.

Make some 2 or 3 slits diagonally with a sharp knife.

Brush the melted butter on the top and sprinkle the poppy seeds.

Bake in the preheated oven for approx 20 mins.

To check whether the bread is ready i usually tap the bread and if i get a good hollow sound , it seems to be ready.

Let cool and then slice to get even slices.

We had them warm with some butter spread on it and it was holy yum.

Had some slices as garlic bread and some more just dunked in soup and enjoyed.

Pinks Notes

Yeast plays a very important role. Do check this site to learn more about different types of yeast.

You can use sesame, flax seeds or keep it plain instead of poppy seeds.

Do try baking and you will be amazed with the results.

The aroma of the bread baking in the oven is so good that you wont be able to stop yourself to bake more and more.

Chutneys – The Basis of Indian Snacks.

Pinks Recipe Diary — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:46:16 +0000

Chutneys are a integral part of out daily food and Coriander Mint Chutney, Tamarind Chutney and Garlic Chutney are a main part of indian street food snacks. Without these any snack will lack the punch required in taste. My fav among these is the coriander chutney and it is always there in my refrigerator. Tamarind Chutney and Garlic Chutney is prepared very occasionally depending upon the snacks. So Lets head to the recipes directly.

Coriander Mint Chutney

Ingredients

1 cup coriander leaves (Cleaned and chopped)

1/2 cup Mint leaves

3 Medium G.chillies

1″ Ginger Chopped

Roasted Jeera 1/2 tsp

Jaljeera Powder 1 tsp (You can chat masala as well)

Rock Salt 1/2 tsp

Juice of half a lemon

Method

Add all the ingredients in a blender and make it to a smooth paste. Add little spoonfuls of water if required.

Transfer it to a air tight back and this can be stored in the fridge for upto 2 weeks.

Notes

I never add regular salt in this chutney as the color of the chutney changes to a darkish color after a couple of days.

Adding rock salt gives it a different taste as well and the chutney will stay in green color for a longer time.

This chutney has a tangy taste due to the addition of chat masala and lemon juice.

Skip any one of these if you want to reduce the tanginess.

Tamarind Chutney

Method

Tamarind cup

Jaggery 1/4 cup grated

Rock Salt 1 tsp

Roasted Jeera Powder 1/2 tsp

Method

Soak tamarind in warm water for 1/2 hour.

When the tamraind is fully soft remove the pulp by pressing it between your fingers.

Transfer the pulp to a pan add all the remaining ingredients and cook it till it reaches a semi thick consistency.

Cool and transfer to a air tight box and store in the fridge.

This can be stored for upto a month as well.

Garlic Chutney

Recipe Source Tarla Dalal

Ingredients

2 whole garlic pods cleaned

1 tbsp Chilli Powder

Salt

Method

Combine all the 3 ingrediets in a blender along with some water and prepare a smooth chutney.

Transfer to a box and store this for upto a week.

Notes

garlic chutney can be prepared in many different ways , i had prepare this along with a famous gujrathi street food (recipe coming soon)

So try out these lip smacking chutneys and tickle your tastebuds!

These Chutneys are off to “The Big Chutney Chowdown” event hosted by Priya of Now Serving.