Chocolate Doughnut

Finger-licking chocolate doughnut, loved by all ages!

 

Ingredients for Chocolate Doughnut:
(1 Cup = 200g)

Cooking Chocolate – 500g (Dark)

All-purpose Flour (Maida) – 2 Cups

Wheat Flour (Atta) – 2 ½ Cups

Butter – 1 ¼ Cups (150g)

Sugar – 2/3 Cup

Eggs – 3 (room temperature)

Dry Yeast – 2 Tbsp

Vanilla Essence – 1 Tsp

Salt – 1 Tsp

Procedure - Chocolate Doughnut

Soak yeast in 1 cup warm water and 1 Tsp sugar and cover it and let it rest for 10 minutes. This is the most important ingredient of the entire dish. If the yeast is old/expired, it would not work out well and the doughnuts will be heavy & dense, instead of light & fluffy.

Blend sugar and butter in another bowl by adding eggs one at a time. Once the sugar is melted completely, add the atta, vanilla & salt to the egg mixture. It would be runny/sticky dough. Do not worry. We still have maida to add.

After 10 minutes of the yeast soaking, add maida to it and mix well. Now add this maida+yeast mixture to the atta dough and knead well into dough. If the dough still seems sticky, you can go ahead and add maida, little, not much. Now cover it tight with a clear wrap or a lid and place it in a warm place for the yeast to do its thing. The best place recommended – Microwave. Make sure you do not turn it on J You’ll have to give the dough atleast 2 hrs to rest before you start preparing the doughnuts.

After two hours, the dough would be double the size. Congrats, you’ve got good quality yeast. Now let your kitchen counter be spick & span as you got to knead the dough and start spreading the dough with a rolling pin. Let the thickness be quarter of an inch. Now take a cookie cutter/any tumbler with sharp edge to cut round pieces (doughnuts). Now with a smaller cookie cutter/bottle cap, cut another round piece in the middle of the doughnut.

Meanwhile, put oil in a pan for deep fry on low-medium heat. Once the oil is hot, gently immerse the doughnuts. If they rise to the surface immediately, bang on, the oil is at the right temperature. It would take 1-2 minutes each side to turn into golden brown. Take them out, place them on the kitchen napkin for the extra oil to drip out and then store them in an air-tight container. 

Chocolate Prep:

Take the chocolate in a glass bowl and melt it in microwave for about a minute on low heat. Take it out stir it and again put it back for a minute on low. Continue the process till the bar is melted completely. The stirring and melting process helps in proper tempering of the chocolate and hence good glaze & texture. Now dip each doughnut half way through the chocolate and serve as shown. I’ve used the sprinkles that I had handy at home. You can get going with whatever topping you prefer on your favourite and soft chocolate doughnut.

Topping recommendations – Powdered sugar, choco-rice, coloured rice, choco-chips, melted white chocolate, grated chocolate (milk/dark/white), crushed cookies, crushed wafers and the list goes on...

Pasta in Alfredo Sauce

An Italian favourite and something easy to make at home - Pasta in Alfredo Sauce .

Ingredients for Pasta in Alfredo Sauce:

Pasta (Penne Rigate) – 500 g

Chicken – ½ Kg (boneless)

Cheese – 150 g (Cheddar/Parmesan/Cream cheese - grated)

All-purpose flour (Maida) – 6 Tbsp

Butter – 3 Tbsp (Semi-solid)

Milk – 1 Lt

Onion – 1 (small, 2halves)

Cloves – 2 Nos

Bay Leaf – 2 Nos

Ginger-Garlic paste – 2 Tbsp

Thyme/Parsley – 1 Tsp

Olive oil – 1 Tbsp

Salt & Pepper to taste

Procedure - Pasta in Alfredo Sauce:

Chicken Prep:

Cut chicken into desired cubes, mix ginger-garlic paste, parsley & salt and let it marinate for 5 minutes. Then fry chicken pieces in a shallow pan with little oil. Make sure chicken is not over-cooked/fried & turned into brown. It got to be tender and white in colour even after frying. Take it off heat and let it rest.

Sauce Prep:
Take a deep dish with milk, onion halves, cloves & bay leaf and heat it. Take it off heat as soon as you see the first boil.

Now take a sauce pan on low heat. Put butter and let it melt. Then put in the flour. Continuous whisking is important as the flour might form lumps or get burnt. Once you do not get the raw smell of flour anymore, pour in the milk. Remember; do not stop stirring/whisking. The flour tends to make the milk a little thicker. Put in thyme, salt & pepper. Now put on the grated cheese and continue stirring till all of it is melted. Taste for the balance of salt and pepper according to your preference. Finally, fold in the chicken pieces and give it a good stir. Take it off heat and let it rest for 5-10 min.

Boiling Pasta:

Take a deep dish and fill it with water. Add salt & 1 Tbsp olive oil and bring it to boil. Now put in the pasta and stir so that they do not stick to the bottom of the pan. It should normally take 8-10 minutes for it to cook. Do not stir much, as it leads to breaking of pasta. Once cooked, drain the water. Drizzle the pasta with the same oil that you fried chicken with. This not only keeps the pasta glazed but also gives the chicken flavour to it. Serve hot and enjoy the creamy Pasta in Alfredo Sauce.

Vegetarians:

You can totally skip the chicken part. In accordance to your preferences, you can add veggies.

Recommended veggies – Cauliflower, Capsicum, Broccoli, Zucchini etc.  

Chocolate Brownie

Satisfy your chocolate cravings with some oh so sweet Chocolate Brownie!!

Ingredients for Chocolate Brownie:

Dark cooking chocolate – 250g

Butter (regular) – 250g

Sugar – 300g

All-purpose flour (Maida) – 150g

Eggs – 4

Vanilla essence - 2 Tsp

Simple process of Chocolate Brownie:

Melt chocolate along with butter in a microwave on low for a minute. Then take it out and stir and put it back for another minute. Continue the process till the chocolate and butter are completely melted and become a nice smooth, flowing mixture. This process avoids burning of chocolate and results in a good texture.

In another bowl, beat eggs, sugar & vanilla essence. Use a blender for smooth mixture. The sugar should be completely dissolved, before you put in the chocolate-butter mixture. Do not stir the mixture vigorously, but fold in the batter till all the elements are totally incorporated. Now add the flour and repeat the folding process. Batter is ready! Now pour the batter in the baking bowl evenly.

Pre-heat the oven for 10 minutes at 250°C.

Then, lower the heat to 200°C and put in the baking bowl. It normally takes 45-50 minutes to bake. However, keep checking after 30 minutes, as every oven differs in the heating patterns.

When will you know that the brownie is ready to take it out???

When you poke in a toothpick/knife in the middle, it comes out clean without any batter sticking to it.

Take it out. Let it rest for 2-5 minutes. Cut into a desirable size and serve hot.

Enjoy the gooey dark chocolate brownie with chocolate sauce, choc-chips or ice-cream!

Note:

A glass bowl is preferred for melting chocolate and butter.

I have used an OTG oven for baking and not the Convection.

Egg Fried Rice

A nice and light Egg Fried Rice

Ingredients for Egg Fried Rice:

Rice – 2 Cups (Cooked)

Eggs – 2 (Room temperature)

Milk – 1 Tbsp (Room temperature)

Parsley – 1 Tsp (Optional)

Carrot – 1 (Finely chopped)

French beans – 4-5 (Finely chopped)

Spring Onion – 4-5 (Finely chopped)

Oil – 2-3 Tbsp

Ajinomoto, Salt & Pepper to taste.

Procedure - Egg Fried Rice:

Beat eggs in a bowl. Whisk in the milk, salt and parsley. Do not over whisk the eggs. Take a wide pan with 2 Tbsp oil on low heat and pour in the egg mixture. Make sure oil is not too hot when you put in the eggs. That will burn the eggs or turn them into dark golden brown which spoils the appealing sight of fried rice. Also, once you put in the egg mixture, do not stir it vigorously. Light and subtle folds and breaking it into desired smaller chunks is recommended.

Now put in the veggies (carrot, beans & spring onion) and let them fry for a minute. Fried rice is all about the colour. So make sure the colour and crunch of the veggies will retain as shown in the picture.

Put in the rice, 1 Tbsp oil, salt, ajinomoto and give it a good stir and let it fry for 1-2 minutes. Add pepper at the end, stir and taste for the balance of salt and ajinomoto. Serve hot and relish the delicious Egg Fried Rice.

Mutton Potato curry

An authentic Andhra style mutton potato curry!!!

Ingredients for Mutton Potato curry:

Mutton – 1 Kg

Potatoes – ¾ Kg (Medium sized pieces)

Onion – 3 medium sized (Finely chopped)

Tomato – 2 small sized (Finely chopped)

Ginger- Garlic Paste – 2 Tbsp

Coconut milk – 1-2 Tbsp

Tamarind – half a handful (soaked in water)

Lime – ½

Jeera powder – ½ Tbsp

Dhaniya powder – ½ Tbsp

Garamasala Powder – 1 Tbsp

Salt and Chilly powder to taste

Procedure - Mutton Potato curry:

Marinate the mutton with chilly powder and turmeric and put it in the fridge, covered for ½ hour. Any meat that is put in the fridge for marination, has to be taken out 5 min before you start the dish prep.

In a pressure cooker, put 2-3 Tbsp oil. Once hot, put in the onion and let it fry till golden brown. Now put in the ginger-garlic paste, jeera powder, garamasala powder, dhaniya powder & salt and let them all fry well, till you do not get the raw smell of the powders anymore. Now put in the meat & tomato and give it a good stir and let them all fry for a minute. Drop in the potatoes and once again, a nice stir and fry for a minute. Now pour in water till the level of all the ingredients and put on the cooker lid along with the weight. 4 whistles and you can turn off the stove and let the steam totally die out. Open the lid and put it back on the flame. This is the time when you take a quick taste to check for the balance of the spices and salt. In-case anything required more, please do not hesitate. When everything is well balanced, now pour in the coconut milk, give it a good stir and take the pan off heat. Garnish with coriander and serve hot & savour the spicy mutton potato curry.  

Egg scramble slice

Simple & creamy Egg scramble slice...

Ingredients for Egg scramble slice:

Bread slice – 1-2

Eggs – 2

Milk – 2 Tbsp

Parsley – ½ tsp (Optional)

Chilly flakes – ½ Tsp (Optional)

Cheese slice – 1

Salt & Pepper to taste

Procedure - Egg scramble slice:

In a microwavable dish (preferably glassware), whisk 2 eggs and pour 2 Tbsp milk and stir well. Season it with salt. Now cover it and put it in a microwave on low for 2.5 - 3 minutes. Once done, take it out cut it into desired chunks with a fork. Put in the parsley, chilly flakes & pepper and stir. Now spread the egg scramble on a bread slice and place small strips of cheese on it. Now cover and put it back in the microwave for 30 sec or until the cheese melts. Enjoy the cheesy egg scramble slice accompanied with a glass of your favourite juice/milkshake etc.

**Always use eggs that are at room temperature to get fluffy and light egg scramble.

Fish Cutlets

Sea food time!!! - Fish Cutlets

Ingredients for Fish Cutlets:

Fish - 1Kg (deboned)

Green chillies - 4-5 (Finely chopped)

Spring onion - 5-6 (Finely chopped)

Ginger garlic paste - 2 Tbsp

Garam Masala powder - 1 Tbsp

Dhaniya powder -  ½ Tbsp

Jeera powder - 1 Tbsp

Chilly powder - 1-2 Tbsp

Eggs - 3-4

Bread crumbs - 2-3 cups

Salt & Pepper to taste

How to make Fish Cutlets:

Fish Prep:

Clean the fish and keep aside. The preferred fish for this dish could be King fish (Vanjaram)/Salmon. Take a wide pan/bowl and fill it with water. Put some salt and turmeric and get it to a boil. Now put in the fish and let it cook for a minute each side. Once you see the fish flaking out, that’s when you’ll know it is cooked. Take out the fish out of the water and let it cool. Then debone the fish and mash it.

Easier option: Pick up tin fish and directly mash it, as it is already pre-cooked

Cutlets prep:

Put in all the ingredients into the mashed fish and mix well. Do taste for salt and chilly. Please note all the powders/ingredients mentioned can be varied according to each ones’ taste. Once mixed well, prepare the shapes as shown in the picture or any shape that you prefer. Dip the cutlet in the egg and then coat it with bread crumbs. Let them rest in the fridge for half an hour before you fry them. These cutlets can also be stored in the freezer and like any frozen food can be taken out, thawed and fried. You can store them for at least 2-3 weeks in the freezer.

Once you let the cutlets rest for half an hour in the fridge, shallow fry them and serve them with your favourite dip.

Need some help with dips??? Mayonnaise and Sweet chilly dip recipes coming up soon!!!!

Chicken Chettinadu

An authentic classic South Indian dish with flavours of Tamil Nadu, Chicken Chettinadu.

Ingredients for Chicken Chettinadu:

Chicken – 1 Kg

Fresh coconut pieces – ¼ of a coconut

Cinnamon sticks – 3

Cloves – 5-6

Jeera – 1 Tsp

Dhaniya seeds – 1 Tsp

Dry chilly – 4-5

Black Pepper corns – 1 Tsp

Turmeric – 1 Tsp

Chilly powder – 1 Tsp

Bay leaf (biryani leaf/tej patta) – 2

Star Anise (biryani flower/chakri phool) – 2-3

Capers (biryani stick/shalmali) – 2-3

Onion – 1 Big (finely chopped)

Tomato – 1 Big (finely chopped)

Ginger-garlic paste – 2 Tbsp

Coriander – 1 Tbsp

Oil – 2-3 Tbsp

Salt to taste

Procedure - Chicken Chettinadu:

Clean chicken and marinate it with little turmeric & chilly powder and leave it to rest in the fridge for at-least 30 minutes.

Chettinadu Paste Prep:

All the spices we are using are the whole ones and not powders. Dry roast the following – biryani leaf, biryani flower, biryani stick, pepper cons, dry chilly, jeera, cloves & cinnamon. Then mix all of them with coconut pieces and grind them into a thick paste.

Chicken Chettinadu Prep:

Heat oil in a pan and put in the finely chopped onions. Once golden brown, put in the ginger garlic paste and let it fry well. Now drop in the Chettinadu paste and give it a good stir. Let them all fry well till you do not get the raw smell of either pastes. Put in the chicken and let it fry for 5-6 min along with the paste. Now the tomato pieces go in. Give it all a good stir and pour ½ cup water and then cover and let it cook for around 10-15 min. Once you feel the chicken is tender and cooked, put in the coriander, stir and serve hot.