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 ...

A friend of mine is married to a Bengali. Here's a simple, but classic recipe from her mother-in-law. Prepare Kaccha: Grind together Khuskhus, green mirchi, sarso oil and salt with a little water. (This kaccha can also be used like chutney).  Peel and dice potatoes (fairly small).  Heat some oil. Add the diced potatoes, haldi, red chilli powder, posto (kaccha), cover and cook it. Add sarso oil before serving. Garnish with a bit of dhania. 

Made this for my Birthday and every single person loved it. Super simple but fantastic. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Charred-Corn-Salad-with-Basil-and-Tomatoes-51104300 Grill corn on the cob, remove kernels and cool. Add cherry tomatoes cut in half, very thinly sliced red onion, lots of torn basic, several sprigs of fresh thyme, lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.

A very dear friend shared this recipe for tikka masala with me that I keep referring back to. Works great for marinating all kinds of stuff. I've added yoghurt to it and marinated Paneer/Tofu and veggies for awesome summer time grilling. Here it is in her words: Ing : 2 tablespoon coriander powder 2 tablespoon cumin powder 1.5 tablespoon garlic powder 2 tablespoon paprika 1 tablespoon garam masala 1 tablespoon ginger 2 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 tablespoon dried mint  salt 1 teaspoon lemon juice  1/2 cup Oil (hot) Mix all the spices and lemon juice and then pour hot oil over the mixer. I guess you can store this paste for quite sometime too..