Rasaswad

Oil + broccoli florets + sliced carrots + sliced garlic. Saute for a bit + sliced king oyseter mushroom + bean sprouts + defrosted wheat berries (1 part wheat berries + 3 parts water (I think) + salt and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles) + 1-2 table spoon of Salsa Macha + kosher salt + nutritional yeast + carrot greens. Salte everything for a couple more minutes and serve hot.

Pretty basic, but quite a hit with adults and kids alike. Melt half a stick of butter with a bag of chocolate chips (whatever kind you have on hand...semisweet for grown up, milk for chocolate) and cool. Whisk together a cup of sour cream, a teaspoon of vanilla, the cooled chocolate mixture and several cups of confectioner's sugar. Adjust according to how stiff/sweet you want the frosting to be. http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/sour-cream-chocolate-cake

Heat oil. Add finely chopped Ginger + Garlic + cilantro stems (lots of them) + spring onion + a little bit of red onion + yellow bell pepper (little bit..not a lot). Saute for a few secongs. Add finely diced carrots + finely diced cabbage (a big handful). Saute everything till the veggies soften just a little bit. Add a pinch of salt and some black pepper. Add soy sauce + dark Soy + rice vinegar + a small amount of schezwan sauce (indian style) + a few drops of dark sesame oil. Stir. Add a can of Straw Mushrooms split in half length wise. Add a couple of cups of water and let it come to boil. Add cornstarch slurry, let it boil and then simmer for a few more minutes. Adjust seasoning according to taste. Serve piping hot with finely chopped spring onion greens. Winter. Solved.  

Made these for a party at the boss's house...everyone loved it. 1 pack 14 oz graham crackers crumbs + 4 tbsp sugar plus 1 stick butter melted. Press in two cake pans 12x8. Bake at 350 for 10 mins and cool. 5 packs cream cheese, 1 can condensed milk ,  1 1/2 cups sugar, 5 eggs, lemon zest and or or vanilla. Divide in two and bake over a cookie sheet with water at 350 for 30 mins. For the topping: Heat about 3/4 cup sugar till golden brown. Add about 3/4 cup slivered almonds and pour on silpat and flatten. Breat it up into praline crumbs (I used dasto). I had some Cajeta/dulce de leche spread which I drizzled first. Then evenly spread the praline. In a small Ziplock, take chocolate and butter and melt. Drizzle the chocolate in a mesh pattern along with the Cajeta spread.

The cupcakes were a big hit. I thought the frosting could have been better...but oh well... The basic cake recipe was from here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Classic-White-Cake-Layers-353170 I modified it to include the mango, and made a double batch. I also tweak the egg proportions to make it a bit richer. Here's what I did. In (my brand new) mixer with a paddle attachment, add 3 sticks of semi-soft butter and 2 1/2 cups of sugar, and beat till fluffy. In another bowl, mix 1 cup of milk (notice the reduction), 6 egg whites and 3 whole eggs, about 12 oz (less than half a tin) of Alphonso Mango pulp, 2 teaspoons vanilla (again notice the reduction), and 1 tablespoon ground cardamom. On a wax paper, mix 4 cups of AP flour, 4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Alternate the milk and flour mixture to create a smooth batter in the mixer. Bake in big/small cupcake pans at 350. The small cupcakes took around 14-18 mins or so.  For the frosting: (...

Jaipur Mummy Style: Imli pulp Kala namak Bhuna jeera powder Phudina grind (no dhania) Lal mirch Serve pooris with boiled, peeled and mashed potatoes, seasoned with salt and red chilli powder, soaked boondi and meethi chutney. Bombay Mummy Style: Phudina A bit of dhania Green chillies Raw mangoes Kala namak Bhuna jeera powder Serve pooris with boiled mashed potatoes, seasoned with chaat masala, boiled and salted sprouted mung, meethi chutney. I combined the two recipes. I took a big handful of fresh phudina, a bit of green chillies (L. said he would have preferred red chillies), kala namak bhuna jeera powder, green mangoes, and ground it to a fine paste. Then added about 1/2 cup of tamarind pulp (laxmi brand). Added lots of water, and adjust the pulp and salt according to taste. Same idea, but slight variation: 2 bunches of phudina, 1 whole peeled raw mango cut into dice, 1/2 green chilli, 1 tbsp fresh roasted and ground cumin, 1 tbsp black salt, 1/2 tsp red chill...

Soak Urad dal in sufficient water overnight. Next morning, grind to a coarse paste in the food processor with salt and just a bit of fresh water. I had freshly ground ginger paste which I used, otherwise, you can grind the ginger and chillies with the dal. I added green chilli paste, ginger paste, hing to the mixture. I also added (optional) whole cumin seeds + fennel seeds + lightly crushed whole dhania seeds. Beat the mixture with your hands to make a light batter. Heat oil in a kadai and fry vadas tilll golden brown. Add them to warm water, press with hands to remove the water and set aside. Beat yogurt with water and salt and spread over the wet wadas. Garnish with red and green chutneys, red chilli poweder, roasted cumin powder, chat masala (optional. I didn't use it this time), and cilantro. Serve chilled.