Rasgulla a famous Bengali sweet is  nothing but a Soft and spongy balls made from cheenna is boiled and dipped in sugar syrup .It is a simple and a yummy dessert. .I have always been a big fan of bengali sweets be it mava sandwich cham cham etc and when my cousin gave me bowl full of chenna i thought of trying rasgulla this time.. I love milk sweets and also love to eat the spoiled milk which is cooked with sugar ..Whenever there is spoiled milk at home i always add sugar and enjoy it but this time i thought i  will make rasgullas out it..

I was very happy with the out come soft and spongy homemade rasgullas turned out just perfect...I actually thought of making ras malai too but the rasgullas were vanished in no time..

Ingredients
1 litre full fat  milk
1 tbsp lime juice/vinegar
2  cups sugar
5 cups water
few strands of kesar(optional)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder

Method

• First and foremost start by curdling the milk .Boil 1 litre milk in a pan and switch off the flame bring it down and  add 1 tbsp lime/lemon juice .and mix ..you will see milk has curdled and whey  has collected and the milk is curdled.
• Now keep a strainer /seive ready lined with muslin cloth/handkerchief drain all the curdled milk on the cloth. and pass 2-3 glass of clean water over this so that the lemon/vinegar taste goes off...I skipped this step since I already had spoiled/curdled milk .

• Now once all they curdled milk has been collected in the cloth tr and remove as much of water as you can by pressing the cloth.Then tie the cloth and hang it for 2-3 hrs till all the water has been drained out completely.

• Now you will see that u have  Nice thick ball of chenna ,take a plate and with your palms knead this chenna well...

• Make small balls out of this and keep aside.

• Add sugar and water in a pan and place it over the flame add 1/2 tsp of milk so that the scum comes up add the cardamom powder to the syrup

• Once the syrup begins to boil add the saffron if using and the balls and cover the pan with the lid and simmer and let it cook for 8-10 mins.The balls must have tripled in size.

• Switch off the flame and keep the lid covered for 20-30 mins then transfer the syrup and balls in a container .let the rasgullas get soaked completely in the syrup for about 6-7 hrs ..refrigerate and enjoy homemade spongy rasgullas.

notes

•  use full fat cream milk,skimmed milk won't give you the desired results
• there should be no water left in chenna ,if it is the balls will break while boiling.
• kneading is very important step to get soft spongy rasgullas.
• you will see some flattened yellow balls in the pic..i had added saffron to half of mixture and kneaded for making rasmalai ..hence the flat shape.

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 Soft succulent melt in mouth seekh kebabs with some mint chutney and a naan..Wow what at treat......
I love Love seekh kababs , as a kid i use to enjoy this with naan bread which we used to get with this...Since beef is banned in Mumbai I have never tried seekh kababs home and was missing them terribly
I thought of making Chicken Malai seekh kabab a recipe which was in my mind since long I made spicy mutton biryani on sunday and aslo made these melt in mouth Chicken malai seekh kabab..

Though i have a segri to grill the kababs i tried these on wooden skewers n pan fried them...they were equally good to get the bbq taste i gave a dum of coal to the mince n then made kababs
Do try them atleast once and I bet you will stop buying seekh kabas from out.


Ingredients
1/2 kg chicken mince
1 onion chopped
5-6 green chillies
5-7 black pepper
1 inch ginger
7-9 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1 1/2 tsp coriander cumin powder
1 tsp lime juice
2 tbsp fresh  cream
5-7 cashews
mint leaves chopped
coriander fistful
salt
1 egg

Method:

• If you have chicken mince then you  can use it ,I have used boneless chicken pieces and then ground it.
• Along with the ground mince add chili ,pepper ,onion,coriander leaves  and ginger garlic cashews egg and grind till smooth paste.
• Remove in a bowl then add coriander cumin powder,garam masala powder salt and lime

• Add the cream and chopped mint leaves and mix well
• Refrigerate for 30 mins.
• Heat the coal and place an aluminium foil on the mince then place the hot coal and just add a drop of oi on the burning coal immediately cover the bowl with another vessel so that no air escapes and the coal aroma enters the mixture.
• Soak the wooden skewers for 1 hr in water
• Oil /wet your hands take the mixture in your hand and shape it into kebabs on the stick
• I kept in the fridge for 20 mins so that they were set.

• Heat a pan add 1 tsp oil and pan fry the kebabs from all side till they are brown.
• Serve with mint chutney and onion rings.

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I'm so excited as i write this Post....I have recently joined the Baking Partner group  on facebook .As the baking ghost keeps instigating me to try new stuff I'm more than happy to be  a part of this group where in I will get to learn something new every month.Swathi had suggested Bagels for the month of August and I was keen on trying this as i have never baked a bagel before.The recipe seemed easy though tedious but the best thing was it could be made in parts making it actually easy ..
Since it was for the first time i was going  to  try the Bagel's recipe I thought of first trying with half of the quantity ..
Though it was a tedious process i enjoyed baking it

Adapted from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Everyday

Ingredients (I have halved the original recipe )
for the dough
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp honey/barley malt syrup,rice syrup
1 tsp instant yeast
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup +1 tbsp lukewarm water

Poaching liquid
250 ml water
1 tsp honey /malt syrup ( optional)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Topping

I used nigella and sesame seeds.

Method:

Day 1 

 Making of the dough 

• Take Luke warm water ,salt and  honey in a wide bowl
• To this add flour and mix till crumbly.
• Then once it has come together knead for 3-5 mins.
• Then transfer the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with cling foil .
• Let it rest for an hour ,till it double in size.

•  Line the baking tray with parchment and slightly grease with oil
• Divide the dough in 3 equal parts ,I have divided in 4 hence i got small size.
• Form a loose ball from each part and start rolling it on a clean dry surface without adding any flour.
• Poke a hole in the centre to shape like a donuts
• Holding the dough with thumb in the hole ,stretch it to create a hole about 2 inches .

• Place each shaped bagel on the prepared baking tray and lightly brush oil.
• Cover the tray with a cling foil and refrigerate overnight.( You can also proof the dough in oiled bowl overnight and then shape the bagels on baking day I did that ,I kept the dough in the fridge overnight next morning I kept it out for an hour then shaped the bagel before they passed the float test )

On the baking day 

• Remove the bagels  1 hr- 1 1/2 hr before you plan to bake it.
• Check if the bagels are ready to bake by doing a Float test that is to test if the bagel floats by placing it in a bowl of cold water,if the bagels sink to the bottom keep it covered for 15-20 min then test again ,once it passes the float test gather all ingredients to boil/poach them before you bake it.
• To make the poaching liquid boil 2 cups water .
• Cover with lid ,bring it to boil then simmer and add in salt,honey and baking soda.
• gently add the bagel as many as fit in the pan , in the poaching liquid it will float on top within 15 sec .
• After a minute turn the bagel with a slotted spoon turn the bagel over and poach for 30-60 seconds.
• Preheat oven for 10 min at 230 degree Celsius.
• Gently take the bagel out and put a generous amount of topping on each bagel.
• The parchment paper on which you are transferring the bagels need to be oiled.
• Then lower the temperature of the oven and bake for 18 - 20 min or till brown at 220 degree Celsius.
• Once baked transfer on wire rack and let it cool for 30 mins before slicing
  
  
  

Slice the bagel and apply a generous amount of cream cheese or make burgers..
I enjoyed eating my chicken bagel burger....

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Chocolates is one thing which is hard to resist for me....I'm a Chocoholic by birth and  I just love eating Chocolates ...And My fridge is always full with Chocolates gifted my my cousins when they come down and not to mention my darling Hubby who overloads his suitcase  with chocolate when is down  ...He had recently sent some Chocolates with his friend from which There were slabs of Cadbury's Oreo...I loved the taste and enjoyed till the last bite.

I ahve seen many members posting Chocolate covered Oreos in many Facebook Groups and also found it easy to make since it was just dipping oreos in Chocolate ...There were few sites I referred too and all followed the same step...So i too gave a shot and it was ready in less than an hour...

Now making Chocolates at home is not at all difficult YOu can choose the best compound Chocolate available easily in any good store ..I  always used Selbourne or Vanleer I recently have started using 2m and i love the dark compound..You can use milk chooclate if you prefer.

Now enjoy making chocolates at home with this easy to follow recipe..This is so easy that even a kid can make it..Using silicone moulds makes it more easy to handle and gives a neat finish .YOu can make it look more attractive by lining melted white chocolate , I wanted to keep it simple though.

Use any fancy moulds if you desire you also use white chocolate ,I just find it too sweet hence avoided.

Ingredients

200 gms Dark Chocolate Compound

A packet of Chocolate Oreo

Method

• Chop the dark compound chocolate to pieces
• Over a double boiler ,melt the chocolate
• With a spatula mix till the chocolate is smooth
• Keep the moulds ready in a tray/plate.

• Pour  a tablespoon of melted chocolate in each mould 
• Then place oreo in each mould.
• Gently press the oreo with your finger 
• Cover it with 1 tbsp of melted chocolate.
• Once you are done.Tap the plate or tray in which you kept the mould so that there is no air bubble and the oreo  is well covered with chocolate .

• Let it set for an hour in the fridge.
• Once set gently unmould the chocolates .
• If you feel like decorating you can add sprinkles or make design with melted white chocolate.
• Store it in air tight container 

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A very delicious cake made using Mava/Mawa  /Khoya and Pista ..I love mava cakes the one which we get in famous Irani bakeries..I have tried it couple of times and it always came out well ...I will share that recipe later. Today's post is a delicious and yummy Mava Cake with Pistachios .

Pista essence gave this cake a lovely flavour .The cake was not  dense like the normal ones are but soft and really delicious.
I made this for our Church Feast  which falls on Independence day and it was a big hit. It was soft and yumm til .Do try it out and let me know how it turned.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup flour/maida
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter/100 gms soft
150 gms mava/mawa//khoya dried whole milk
3-4 tbsp milk
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
 1/2  tsp pista essence
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

• Sift the flour and baking powder and keep aside
• Bring the mava to room temperature if kept in fridge
• Grease  a 7 inch cake tin and line it with parchment.
• Pre heat the oven at 170 degree for 10 mins.

• In a bowl beat butter and sugar till creamy.
• Then add in eggs and beat well .
• Add in essence and mix
• Add in mava and continue to beat till all mixed and incorporated well.

• Fold in flour and mix well add milk to loosen the batter.
• Pour the batter in the prepared cake tin 
• Sprinkle chopped pistachios over the cake 
• Bake for 40- 50 min at 170 degree Celsius or till skewer inserted comes out clean
• Allow to cool then slice and enjoy

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I have already posted a Mango Mango Cheesecake before which is one of the most popular post of all times  in my space.There were many doubts and queries asking what if we dont get Philidephia Cream cheese can we use kraft cheese or brittania cheese so on and so forth so finally i decided to make a similar cake using Paneer/Cottage Cheese.We enjoyed this in May when it was raining alphonso mangoes at my place I thought i would post this next summer but then i was asked by few members to post.You can use canned/tinned Mango pulp too.

This Mango Cheesecake taste as good as the one made with philladephia cream cheese ,here  I have used mango sponge cake as the base and it tasted really great.You can also use vanilla sponge cake if you fin theres too much of mango been used but it did taste great..

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup Mango pulp
250 -300 gms paneer
1 tin condensed milk
200 ml  fresh cream
3/4 cup hung curd

For the Mango Glaze
1/2 cup pulp
1/2 cup hot water
1 .5 tsp gelatin

• Blend together ,paneer ,curd cheese/hung curd,fresh cream and condensed milk  and Mango pulp till all is well combined
• mix 2 tbsp gelatin in 3tbsp water till it dissolves then mix it in the cream and paneer mixture
• Blend together and pour over the sponge cake
• Let it set for 2-4 hours or till set.
• Once set pour over the mango glaze and refrigerate till set

Note :
I have used the basic sponge cake recipe just added milk powder and condensed milk instead of eggs and mango puree for the mango flavour.
You could also use a vanilla sponge or a biscuit base as used in my Mango Cheesecake Recipe 

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 A simple yet flavorful Chicken Curry .Green chicken Curry is one of my favourite curry Love to have this with Pulao or jeera rice.This Green Chicken Curry is coconut based With fresh green masala .You can enjoy this with Rice/Roti/Appam/Bread.

Ingredients:
1/2 kg Chicken
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt

1/2 cup dessicated coconut
2 onion sliced
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
5-7 green chilies/as per taste
4-6 peppercorns
6-8 garlic cloves
1 inch ginger
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
A small bunch of fresh coriander leaves/kothmir
Hand full mint leaves/pudina
a sprig of curry leaves
1 tomato chopped
2 med potatoes
oil
salt.

Method:
Clean and Wash the Chicken Pieces ,remove excess water ,apply salt ,lemon juice and turmeric powder and keep aside for 10- 20 mins.
Dry roast the coconut till fragrant and light brown remove in a plate.
Dry roast the cumin pepper and coriander seeds.
Add 1 tsp oil ,then add sliced onions and roast on med flame till it turns soft and light brown.
Also add chillies ,ginger and garlic and just roast for 2 mins.
Now grind all this  with coriander and mint leaves adding water to a smooth paste.
In a  vessel add about 1 1/2 tbsp oil ,once hot add curry leaves.
Then add chopped tomatoes and cook till mushy.
Add the ground paste and saute well for 3-4 minutes
Mix in the marinated chicken  and saute till all the masala coats the chicken well
Add water and potatoes and bring it to a boil.
Simmer the gas after nice boil comes and cover and cook till the chicken and potato is cooked.
Lastly add garam masala powder and salt if needed.
Serve hot with rice/pulao/appom/bread

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A very creamy and delicious Ice cream made without ice cream maker and without eggs..I have always made ice cream with milkpowder cream etc you can check my Sitaphal ice cream and Strawberry ice cream post they taste exactly like the ones in naturals..I have seen this ice cream recipes all over the net popularly called the 2 ingredients ice cream but here in mumbai its difficult to find double cream so its subtitued with whipped cream and fresh cream ..
The sweetness can be adjusted according to your tatse buds..Try this delicious Tutti rutti ice cream and you will love it..

Ingredients
1 cup whipping cream
200 ml fresh cream
1/2- 3/4  cup tuttii frutti
150 -200 gms  tin condensed milk
1 tsp strawberry/vanilla essence

Method:

• Place the beaters and bowl in the fridge for 30 mins.
• Keep the whipped cream out of the fridge for 2-3 hrs.
• Place the whipped cream and essence in the bowl
• Beat the whipped cream till soft stiff peaks formed
• Add the fresh cream and beat for 4-5 mins.
• Add the condensed milk and continue to beat for 2-3 minutes
• Then mix in the tutti frutti and mix well with a spatula
• Store it in an air tight container and refrigerate for 4-5 hrs.
• Enjoy delicious homemade icecream...

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Honey cake used to be my favourite as a kid I used to love to have this Honey Cake from the local bakery ..They  added different colours and top it with coconut it looked so pretty .I was very happy to find the same taste when i tried this at home last Christmas I followed Vah chef's recipe but made few changes in the amount of honey, sugar and jam used .This Indian Honey Cake  is now become a favourite a my place.
This Indian Bakery Honey Cake is perfect for a birthday party too you can serve these sqaures for your kids birthday party.
Do try it You will love the soft melt in mouth indian bakery honey  cake for sure..You can add colour to the cake batter to make it look more pretty and colourful I have not added any colour.

Ingredients
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup flour/maida
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

For the honey syrup
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp rose water /1/4 tsp  rose essence

2 tbsp jam
2 tbsp desiccated coconut

Method:

• Prepare the pan by greasing it and lining it with  parchment /butter paper.
• Sift Maida/Flour with baking powder and keep aside.
• Pre heat the oven at 180 degree for 10 minutes.

• Beat butter and sugar till light and creamy.
• Add in one egg at a time and beat till well combined.
• Add in the other egg and continue to beat.

• Also add vanilla essence and mix well.
• Fold in the flour with a spatula till all mix well ,make sure there are no lumps.
• Add milk to loosen the mixture and mix till you get a smooth batter.
• Pour the batter in prepared cake tin and bake for 35-40 minutes at 160-170C or till the toothpick/skewer inserted come out clean.
• Allow the cake to come to room temperature then unmould it.

• Meanwhile prepare the syrup by boiling water sugar and honey for 3-4 minutes till you get syrup consistency.
• And melt the jam over low flame  adding 1 tsp sugar in a pan .
• Just make few holes with the toothpick all over the cake
• Pour the syrup while its still warm.
• Apply the jam all over the cake.

And sprinkle desiccated coconut all over.

Cut in squares and enjoy.

Notes:
I have used only 2-3 tbsp of the honey syrup and just used 2 tbsp jam because i didn't want it to be over sweet ,it was just perfect but you could add the entire syrup it will get soaked in the cake and make it more soft and delish.
I used mixed fruit jam you my use apricot/strawberry too.
If you wish to add colour just add few drops of cooking colour to the batter.
My cake was perfectly baked in 40 mins ,your baking time may vary .

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