Monday, December 31, 2012

Happy, Healthy and Yummy 2013 !


I celebrated, watched New Year Celebrations at Burj Khalifa (on youtube :/ ), Dubai and had Chapli Kababs followed by cuppa tea. I hope you guys had a great time and wish you a healthy, happy and yummy 2013!


Friday, December 28, 2012

Flake and Strawberry Crêpe

My parents came over to my place last week from Riyadh. And Papa bought me strawberries ! *yum yum*. So, when they left after 3 days I was feeling all blue and felt like giving myself a treat to cheer me up. The treat turned out to be chocolate and strawberry crêpe =) it was easy to make and perfect for lifting up my spirits.



    






What you need:

Strawberries- Sliced or chopped
Chocolate - I used Flake, you can also use chocolate sauce.

Ingredients for batter:

1 Cup Milk
1/4 Cup Flour
1/2 Teaspoon vanilla essence
Pinch of salt

What you need to do:

Mix all the ingredients together. Then mix them with the help of a whisk.
There shouldn't be any lumps and the batter should have enough thickness to spread out but not too thin.
Put a teaspoon of oil in a frying pan at medium heat. Wait until 3 minutes.
Now pour the batter with the help of a bouillon spoon (soup spoon) and spread it around by moving the fry pan in a circular motion.

You will get something like this:


Its ok if you don't get the perfect circle. Once, you see the edges are little brown use a spatula to flip ur crepe. And let it brown from the other side too.

You are done! Throw your strawberries and sprinkle on the chocolate and fold it as you like.


Serve them for a breakfast with fresh strawberries, fresh cream or whipped cream and some extra chocolate sauce!





Monday, December 17, 2012

King's Bazaar



Hey Readers!
I wanted to tell you guys about this awesome facebook page. They provide handmade rugs, cushions, wall-hangings etc worldwide. Do visit them! They customize according to your wants! :D
Check out these cushions! <3

Here is the link : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kings-Bazaar/136383103183359

Tata!

Friday, December 7, 2012

Christmas around the corner


DIY Christmas Cake!
I am in the middle of moving so I can't really do the cake but I am posting this for you guys to give it a try at home for your Christmas..Just follow the link below and enjoy!

http://www.sugaredproductions.com/blog/cake-decorating/ruffled-christmas-tree-cake/





Sunday, December 2, 2012

Fish Karahi [ Fish in the Curry]

So, its like 5:13 AM in Jeddah and I'm kind of sleepy not really sleepy yet. And I don't like talking alot about the recipe for now. In short, there are many recipes in Pakistan for making a "Karahi" and mostly they are Chicken Karahi and Mutton Karahi (chicken and beef! yes! ) but what is a Karahi? Good question!
As I said not much of bla bla today, please goto : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karahi

Left to Right: Wok and Karahi
Yes! That is called Karahi! And we make this curry-ish thing in Karahi and serve it in Karahi too! :D


What you need:
4 Fillet of fish
8 Tomatoes - Diced (preferably red and not at all the yellow ones)
3 Green chilies - sliced
5 cloves of garlic (hand chopped)
Half a cup coriander - chopped
Thinly Julienne cut ginger ( to garnish and its important to add it)
Salt to taste
1 1/2 teaspoon Red chili powder
1/2 cup oil

This is what you need to do:

1) Cut big chunks of the fish fillet and shallow fry both sides in a skillet. Until they are done.
2) Pour oil in your karahi ( you can use the skillet or a wok to cook it as well) and throw in your garlic. Don't let the garlic go brown just stir it a bit until you can smell the aroma. Now its the time for the tomatoes to go in.
3) Put salt and red chili powder in it and let the tomatoes cook. Until they leave the skin and the oil is separated.
4) Now take your fish and place it on the gravy and cover the skillet. Let it cook and get all the gravy taste for about 5 minutes.
5) Its time for the green chilies, garlic and coriander . You can simply sprinkle everything on the top.
6) Take it off the heat but I like to cover it for a while so that the garnish improvises its aroma too.


Mine didn't have coriander because I did not have it in home :P Hope you guys enjoy it...The ingredients are easy and you can make it with chicken or beef...I have tried prawns too! =D

P.S: Remember to keep stirring from time to time and keep it on medium-high flame to low flame as needed.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Mashed Potatoes- The Rich and The Light

Been a long time! First Ramadan, then moving to another city and atlast traveling to Pakistan for my brother's wedding. Damn I miss the food in Lahore *yum yum*
Well so the story goes back to a lazy afternoon and I was craving for creamy yet crumby mashed potatoes. Who am I kidding! Almost everyone knows how to make mashed potatoes but still I will go with the recipe because I want to :p

It was a cloudy day so I decided to take a picture by the window

Ingredients:
2 -Small Potatoes (Ofcourse)
1 1/2 Tbsp - Butter/  1tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
Black Pepper
Oregano
Milk/Fresh Cream
Salt

I have two versions of mashed potatoes: The Rich and The Light (for foodies on diet).

1- Peel and boil potatoes. You can also boil them without peeling. Check if they are completely done, by poking a knife in it. If the knife goes in and comes out without any tiny hassle. Potatoes are done!

2- Now peel them and cut them in small rough pieces. Do this in a steel bowl preferably.

3- For the rich : Put in the butter and start mashing it with the fork.
    For the light: Put in the olive oil in small quantities and keep mashing.
4- Add salt and pepper according to your taste.
5- For the rich: Add about 2 tablespoon or less of cream.
     For the light: Start adding milk a teaspoon at a time.

Once, you like the texture and the cream-iness in your mashed potatoes stop adding milk or cream. You can vary it according to your taste or cravings. I usually sprinkle some oregano or parsley on it.
You can also melt some cheese for the topping.


And after I was done eating all the cheese....


Serve it as a side dish with your grilled chicken or steak and enjoy !!!

Friday, September 7, 2012

Love Portion - Double Chocolate Mousse with Strawberry Sauce


Chocolate and strawberry - My Love portion, always a great idea for romantic dessert. 
And as my hubby loves chocolate mousse, I decided to put in everything together for his short 3-day trip to home. 
Warning: This may seem too long but it isn't and worth trying!

Lets see what we need :

Chocolate Sponge
Milk Chocolate Mousse
Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse
Whipped Cream
Strawberry Sauce







Strawberry Sauce :

There are several ways of making a strawberry sauce , we shall go thru 2 of them.

2 cups strawberries
3tbsp sugar


One way : 

1) Thaw strawberries at room temperature. Put them in a blender with 2tbsp of water. Blend until there are no lumps.

2)Now put it on stove at medium heat, let it simmer and then add sugar.
Once the sugar is dissolved, take the pan off the stove let it cool.

I like my strawberry sauce thick when using for chocolate mousse. And with less sugar kind of sweet and sour with its original taste.

The other way:
Repeat step no.1 above and pass the mixture through sieve to separate the seeds and other lumps. 
Now repeat step no.2 and you are done :D
You can add 1tbsp of corn syrup when sauce is on stove to give it the thickness.

Chocolate Sponge: Well to be honest I used the one from the supermarket :P.
Dark chocolate sponge works very well! Just crumb it not too much and keep aside.

Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp Vanilla 
1/4 cup sugar

You can use wonder whip by Foster or anyother ready-to-use whipping cream.
I used fresh cream. Whip the cream until almost stiff. Then add sugar and vanilla. and whip until the cream hold the peaks.




Chocolate Mousse:

100g of Bittersweet Chocolate
8 egg yolks , divided
4 cups heavy cream, divided
100g of Milk chocolate
4 tbsp Vanilla Extract, divided
1/2 cup of butter at room temperature, divided



  1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat 1 2/3 cups heavy cream on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Transfer to an air tight container and keep it in the fridge.
  2. Using Bain-Marie technique melt the 1/4 cup of butter and chocolate. Stir in the sugar, 2tbsp of vanilla extract and take it off the stove.
  3. Now add one egg yolk at a time, mixing it well. This will form a thick mixture. Add all 4 yolks.
  4. Remove the whipped cream from the refrigerator and place into a large bowl.  Add 1/3 of the bittersweet-chocolate mixture to the whipped cream; whisk until well combined.  Add remaining bittersweet-chocolate mixture, until well combined.  Make sure there are no lumps. Do not whip it or anything just mix it with the help of plastic spatula.
  5. Transfer bittersweet chocolate mousse to a pastry bag fitted with a large, plain round tip. Or you can just spoon it in the glass later on. Lets not make it a heavy work. :P 
  6. Repeat entire recipe, substituting milk chocolate for the bittersweet. ( Yes, that's why we divided almost everything)
  7. Transfer milk mousse to pastry bag as well. If you do not have one, relax, don't worry we will use spoon or ice-cream scoop. And if your mousse is not thick enough then do not transfer it to the pastry bag.



Assembling- The most exciting part !

Take dessert glass or whatever glass you want to use. Press down the layer of crumbled cake in the glass and add a spoon full of strawberry sauce. Now pipe the Bittersweet chocolate mousse. Let it rest in the fridge for atleast 20 minutes. Now pipe the milk chocolate mousse. Let it set in the fridge for other 20 minutes. Top it with left over whipped cream or more strawberry sauce. Depends on how you like it :)




You can also scrape some chocolate with the help of vegetable peeler and for the topping on the mousse.


Beside the cups I also layered the mousse into a dish for family-time!



For the hearts : 
Drop the sauce by help of a spoon or use a round small tip and then make a line by using the tip of toothpick from one end to other ... That's pretty much it <3

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Bruschetta with Olives and Tomatoes

Been a looooonnnggg time guys! Ramadan is always a busy month. For me Ramadan is all about "eat, pray and love"  Lol like literally! So, anyways I will be posting recipes and some restaurant reviews soon.
For now there is something my family loves as an appetizer, the crispy french bread with aroma of garlic and butter with melting cheese! And yes I am talking about Bruschetta!


What we need:

1 Baguette
3 Cherry Tomatoes
1/2 Cup Olives (Sliced)
4 Cloves Garlic
3 Tablespoon Butter (At room temperature) Or Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Half a bunch of Parsley
Mozzarella or Parmesan Cheese (Optional)




Instructions:

Take your and cut it the way its shown in the picture above, its better to use nice bread knife. Slices should be atleast 1/2 inch thick.

Chop your cherry tomatoes in small cubes, set aside.

Now chop the garlic cloves and parsley by hand or use machine to chop finely. Mix it with the butter.

Preheat the over at 450°F. Spread the butter mixture on one side of your slices and place it in the tray.

Then top it with tomatoes and olives. I am a cheese lover so I sprinkled some with mozzarella cheese and oregano before placing the tray into the oven.

Once, the cheese is melted or lets say after toasting the Bruschetta for 5-7 minutes take the tray out and serve warm. Please make sure don't over toast them! They will be hard as rock (Believe me on that)

Now this was one way of doing it. You can also coat the slices in olive oil and just rub the garlic on each slice, toast them and then top it with whatever you like.

They are best to serve with dinner or even as an evening snack. I baked few with the toppings and rest just with cheese and butter mixtures.




Sunday, July 22, 2012

White Chocolate Truffles with Nuts


Truffles was something I was waiting to give a shot since a long time. I had some white chocolate at home and it was just sitting in the fridge longing to be used. So, I used this youtube video for the start and added crushed nuts to the white chocolate and dipped it into pool of Hershey's cocoa powder

Here is the link to the video :  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ax0frFJIf4

I can't wait to make dark chocolate truffles :D <3

Here they are :D

Happy Cooking <3

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Almond Orange Cake with Butterscotch


Yellow Layer Cake :

2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or half a bean
3/4 cup milk, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 . Butter and flour two 8-inch round pan.
The easy way to butter is to dip a tissue in melted butter or use a brush and apply on the pan and then sprinkle the flour on the pan and discard to excess.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Cream the butter until smooth with electric beater at high speed. Add sugar gradually mixing at medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Now start adding eggs one at a time for about 2 minutes.
Often scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Add the vanilla extract to the milk or seeds to the milk.

Now fold in all the dry ingredients into the mixture adding small amount of milk at a time.

Divide the mixture into the pans and let it rest until the surface is leveled and smooth.

Put it in the oven for about 20-30 minutes.

Insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean- your cake is done!

I dusted my cake with icing sugar :)

For Almond Orange Cake:

Add 2/3 cup of almonds.
Zest and juice of 1 orange.

Cut the zest from the orange and then trim off the bitter white pith and in the food processor blend it with the almonds. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients.

For Butterscotch:

1 cup butterscotch chips (I used Hershey's)

Put the chips in a oven proof bowl with 2 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon milk and put in the oven for 1-2 minutes until creamy. Now add this mixture above the cake batter and with the help of a fork just mix it a bit to give the swirls.

Happy Baking :D

Ramadan Special - Dates, Coconut & Nuts


Ramadan Kareeeeem!!!

Ramadan is the month I love to spend in Riyadh - not in Dubai! Its peaceful out here.
Date is the fruit all Muslims use to break their fast and it has health benefits as well. 

Dates
So, this is my papa's recipe and lil bit of mine..hehe..

What you need:
2 Cups dates - seeds removed.
1/2 Cup Butter
1 Cup Mix Nuts (Almonds, walnuts, pistachio etc)
Coconut crushed

What you need to do : 

Put a pan on medium heat and add dates and 4 tablespoons of butter.
Keep mixing and breaking all the dates until they are real soft.
Now add all the nuts and remaining butter.
Mix Mix Mix!
Do NOT leave the stove unattended as the dates can get burn.

Once, dates are soft and everything is well mixed take it off the stove and you can refrigerate it for the whole month and use it in different recipes.

This is what I did!
I made small coconut filled balls and coated them in coconut flakes - SIMPLE :D

You can vary it by filling it with cream or almonds or cashews, anything you love :)

Happy Ramadan ! :)







Monday, July 16, 2012

Pink Love

Dense Chocolate Cake with White Mousse Filling     


Oh! I just loved this cake!

The combination of dense chocolate with the white chocolate turned out ummmm-aah!

I wanted to fill the cake top with this dark pink colored rosettes but unfortunately I was running out of time and the kitchen was too warm to keep the whipped cream in shape (Once again DUH Riyadh heat).

Well well well I ended up giving it a messy mud shape...According to my dad it looks like some pink mud pool! :D


I will be posting the basic recipes later so all of you baking freaks can mix match according to your taste and enjoy ! <3

The beauty of colors!





Monday, July 9, 2012

Watermelon Summer Cooler

My dad simply love this summer cooler, specially when he comes home after spending his day under 50°C of heat in Riyadh!
Its real easy to make.
Just separate the seeds of watermelon blend it with water.
Now by the help of a strainer, filter out the pulp. - Ladies save the pulp for your skin ;)
Squeeze in one lemon and add crushed ice.
I also added a teaspoon of Kadi Water, you can also use Rose water as it gives wonderful refreshing aroma.


What you need :
2 cups Watermelon diced
1 Lemon
1/2 cup water






Watermelon is excellent for your skin. You can use the pulp to cool your skin by simply dabbing the cotton and applying on your skin. 


Add few drops of honey and apply for tightening your pores.


Now cool down the heat on your skin and on your body :D


Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Perfectly Boiled Rice


This post is specially for the people like me; I suck at boiling rice!
But thank you to my husband for telling me this technique to have a perfectly boiled rice without getting sticky at all!
So, here it is for a cup of rice.

What you need:

Rice - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Fresh Lemon - Half

         OR

White vinegar - 1 Tablespoon
Salt to taste

Instructions:

Ofcourse wash your rice first. Duh?
Put your rice on medium heat then add water to it, water level should be an inch more than the rice.
Add salt. Wait for the water to boil a little and now add vinegar or squeeze your lemon slice (whatever you prefer using). Stir it!

Leave it on medium heat and wait for the water to evaporate until very little is left after that cover the lid and leave it to cook on a very low heat.

Once your rice is well done take it off the heat.

Ta Da!

P.S: Good for Pulao(Pilaf) and Biryani to get the perfect texture.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Pasta Shells with stuffed Mozzarella and Chicken and Béchamel Sauce

Pasta Shells arranged in the Pyrex dish.

What you need:

For Filling:
Pasta Shells - Half a packet
Mozzarella - Half Cup
Shredded Chicken - 1 Cup (I used leftover chicken from chicken broth)
Green Chilli - 2 pieces
Egg - 1 
Red Chilli flakes - 2 Teaspoon
Salt to taste
Oregano - 1/2 Teaspoon

For Béchamel Sauce:
Butter - 2 Tablespoon
Flour -  2 Tablespoon flour
Milk (heated) - 1 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper
Grated cheddar or Parmesan - 1/2 cup 

Instructions:

Boil the shells like any other pasta and carefully spoon them out, try not to break.

Now mix all the filling ingredients. Remember egg is used for binding the filling together.

Pre-heat the oven at 350 F. 

Put a saucepan on medium heat and add butter. Once the butter starts to melt add milk.
Simmer milk and then add flour to it and keep stirring it with the  help of whisk. (it shouldn't have any lumps).
Now add salt, pepper and cheese. Keep stirring with the whisk until you achieve the require consistency of your sauce. Your sauce is ready, keep aside.

Take a pyrex dish, spoon out some sauce into the dish. Now arrange the pasta shells in the dish.
Pour over rest of the sauce and sprinkle some mozzarella cheese. Cover it with the foil and put into over for 30 mins. Pasta Shells are ready to serve!

You can do all sort of variations with this and try Napolitana Sauce instead of  chamel Sauce.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Cookie Cutters !

My Cookie Cutters In Spotlight!


Kung Pao Chicken

Kung Pao Chicken

Kung Pao Chicken is originaly known as Gong Bao Chicken and it is cooked with beef or shrimps as well.


What you need:

For Marination:


Boneless Chicken Breast - 2 Pieces 
Dark Soy Sauce  - 1 1/2 Tablespoon 
Oyster Sauce - 1 Tablespoon 
Corn Flour  - 1 Tablespoon
Olive oil      - 1 Teaspoon 


For Sauce

Dark Soy Sauce - 2 Tablespoon
Oyster Sauce - 1 1/2 Teaspoon
Sugar - 1 Teaspoon  

Other Ingredients: 

Red Chilli Peppers - 
Garlic Cloves - 
Spring Onions - 1 cup  
Olive oil - 4  Tablespoon 

Szechwan peppercorns (Optional)  - 1 Teaspoon 

Cashews  - 1/4 cup 
Peanuts  - 1/2 cup 

Method:

Cut the chicken breasts into medium sized slices, remember not too thick and not too thin!
Mix all the marination ingredients except corn flour and pour onto the chicken. Mix well and then add the corn flour. Mix Mix Mix :P 
Keep it in refrigerator. 
For atleast half an hour ! 

Now keep your wok at high flame and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Toss the peanuts and cashews, fry them for 3-5 minutes. Keep aside.

Mix together ingredients for sauce. Keep that aside too! 

Chop the garlic finely. 
Cut the spring onions diagonally.

Ok, we are done with all the cutting, marination and mixing. Let's get to real work! ;)

Put the wok at medium-high flame add 2 tablespoon of olive oil and add your chicken.
If the chicken is white or let's say 80% cooked, take the wok off the flame.
Now take the frying pan and add last 2 tablespoon of olive oil (Oh you can use sesame oil as well) and add garlic, Szechwan peppercorns and red chilli peppers. Stir until they are aromatic and red.
Add the sauce into the frying pan give it a little boil. Toss the chicken in and then the spring onions and nuts. Cover and let it cook for atleast 5 minutes, so that the aroma of all the ingredients is mixed well together. 
Kung Pao Chicken is ready now! Serve it hot with Chinese fried rice.



P.S: I also added powdered peanut mixture to the sauce. 



Please give me your feedback \m/

Tomato Chutney


Tomato Chutney


What you need:
 
6 Tomatoes 
1 Tablespoon oil
1 Teaspoon Nigella sativa/ Black seeds/Kalonji
1 Tablespoon of ginger paste
1 Tablespoon of Garlic paste
1 Teaspoon vinegar
1 Tablespoon brown sugar (you can use white as well)

Put oil on low heat and add ginger and garlic paste and Kalonji. Let it cook but don't let it go brown. Then add chopped tomatoes. If you want you can peel off the skin and then add them. I added without peeling off the skin. Make sure from time to time that tomatoes are not getting sticked on the pan.

Let it cook on medium heat until they are soft. Now, add sugar and vinegar. 
Cook until the skin is separated from the tomatoes or until thick mixture is formed. 
I didn't want to blend all the chunks, so I cooked it until they were very soft. (For about an hour on low heat) The oil will be separated. After that I blended my mixture for about 2 minutes, so that it would not form paste. Pour in a container and let it cook then refrigerate. Try to consume within two weeks.

You can vary your ingredients. 

Mine is yummy! But it was my first try. I will try to bring some variations next time :D

Enjoy !!!