Rasaswad

L.'s company is celebrating their success and I wanted to pitch in. So i baked cupcakes. Well, mini cupcakes...a lot of them. Around 100. I did cheat though. I used cake mixes. Duncan hines devil's food and french vanilla. Each pack made about 48 mini cupcakes (with a little batter leftover). After cooling, I used the glaze by Martha Stewart. I used the proportions here: http://www.marthastewart.com/317440/handwritten-valentine-cupcakes-with-choc And the method here: http://www.marthastewart.com/282944/chocolate-glaze 2/3 cup heavy cream 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 1 tablespoon corn syrup    Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Place chocolate and corn syrup in a small bowl. Pour hot cream over chocolate mixture, and stir until smooth.I let it stand at room temperature for a while (in fact, even refrigerated it, since it was a hot day) and then glazed the cupcakes. One recipe was en...

I took my go-to paneer tikkas to work when the annual summer party was cancelled. Then, it actually happened, so I had to come up with a new version of paneer tikkas to feed the vegetarians, since it was the same crowd. Thanks to Sanjeev Kapoor, this recipe was a supar hit: Copied from here: http://sanjeevkapoor.com/hara-bhara-paneer-tikka.aspx Ingredients • Paneer (cottage cheese),2 inch cubes 500 grams • Fresh coriander leaves 2 bunches • Fresh mint leaves 1 bunch • Green chillies 4 • Garlic 10 cloves • Ginger 1 1/2 inch piece • Lemon juice 2 teaspoons • Onions,chopped 2 medium • Salt to taste • Hung yogurt 1 cup • Fresh pomegranate pearls 2 tablespoons • Gram flour (besan) 4 tablespoons • Kasoori methi powder 2 tablespoons • Chaat masala 2 teaspoons • Roasted cumin powder 2 teaspoons • Garam masala powder 2 teaspoons • Mustard oil 2 tablespoons + for basting • Onions,2 inch pieces 2 medium • Green cap...

This was kind of serendipitous. Was trying to use up some plums and this recipe was created. De-seed some ripe plums. Blend them completely (with the peels, I used magic bullet).  In a small sauce pan, heat the plum pulp with some sugar and cook until the sauce thickens, about 5-10 minutes. Cool and refrigerate until ready to use. This can be used as a dessert sauce with various applications (think ice-cream and pound cake). Whip some heavy cream, add sugar, vanilla and whip until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the cool sauce and chill the mousse. I liked to keep some streaks of white for a prettier effect. I also served this with slices of fresh plum and some berries, with a drizzle of the plum sauce. I'm clearly not on a diet!  

When I interned at MSR, their cafeteria made these awesome Drunken Noodles. I even had it for my birthday lunch. I've been trying to find a similar one ever since, but just can't find it. The other day I was cooking on a whim and came up with a noodle dish. What I made is not really similar to it, but decent by itself.  The next time I make these, I would try to add some lemongrass, maybe. The hunt for good Drunken Noodle continues.. I used Trader Joes' Dried Egg Pappardelle pasta, and it worked really well. Boil the pasta in salted water as per instructions, but keep them fairly al-dante. In the mean while, in a shallow pan, add some oil, and saute one package sliced porcini mushrooms. Once they're sauted a bit, shift them towards the outside of the pan. Add more oil, and add sliced peppers and onions. I used one white onion, 1 red pepper and 1 green pepper. Saute them and add about 3-4 cloves of thinly sliced garlic and grate some fresh ginger. Mix all the veggies ...