Tri Pepper & Mushroom Noodles and Vegetable Manchurian

This is going to be a one picture post. Because that's all I could resist my temptation from devouring this lovely menu. 

Chinese is an all time hit in my home and when you crave Chinese, you need to eat Chinese and nothing else!!

Oh!! did I mention that I made both these without any onion or garlic in them....

Let's move on to the recipe...

Vegetable Manchurian:

Serves - 2

What you need:

1. Cabbage, Carrots, Capsicum - 1 cup (very finely chopped/shredded)
2. Maida - 3 tbsp
3. Cornflour - 2 tbsp
4. Salt - to taste
5. Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp
6. Tomato Sauce - 1/2 tsp
7. Chilli Sauce - 1/2 tsp
8. Soy Sauce - 1/2 tsp
9. Oil - to deep fry

For the Sauce:

1. Soy Sauce - 1/2 tsp
2. Tomato Sauce - 1/2 tsp
3. Chilli Sauce - 1/2 tsp
4. Cornflour - 1/2 tsp
5. Water - 1/4 cup
6. Oil - 1/2 tsp

How to go about it:

1. In a bowl, add all the ingredients except oil and start mixing. Do not add any water, as the sauces and the water in the vegetable will be enough to form a dough. 
2. Meanwhile heat oil for deep frying.
3. The vegetable sauce mixture - you should be able to form big lemon sized balls. If you feel the dough is little dry then add very little water to it. If you find the dough is little loose then add little maida/ cornflour to the dough. 
4. Once the oil is hot, deep fry the manchurian balls and drain them on a paper towel. 
5. In a pan, add oil, soya sauce, tomato sauce and chilli sauce. Let it come to a bubble for 2 minutes.
6. Mix the cornflour in water and add to the sauce mixture. Let it become thick.
7. Finally toss in the deep fried manchurian balls and mix and serve.

Points to note:

1. If you want you could add onion, capsicum and ginger garlic into the oil and fry them for a few minutes and then add the sauces.

Tri Pepper & Mushroom Noodles:

1. Noodles - 1 pack
2. Capsicum (Yellow, Red, Green) - 1/2 cup (finely chopped)
3. Mushroom - 1/2 cup (finely chopped)
4. Cabbage, Carrots - 1/2 cup (finely chopped)
5. Salt - to taste
6. Pepper Powder - 1 tsp
7. Chilli Sauce - 1tsp
8. Tomato Sauce - 1 tsp
9. Soy Sauce - 1/2 tsp
10. Oil - 1/2 tbsp
11. Water - to boil the noodles

How to go about it:

1. Cook the noodles according to the instructions mentioned in the pack. Drain them and toss the noodles with a little oil and keep aside.
2. In a pan, add oil. Once hot add the carrots and cook fry them to cook half way. Add the cabbage and saute for few more minutes until both the cabbage and carrots are cooked.
3. Now add the capsicum and mushrooms and fry them again until all the water is absorbed.
4. Add salt, pepper, all the sauces and fry them so that everything comes together.
5. Taste the vegetables and adjust the seasoning accordingly.
6. Now top in the cooked noodles into the vegetable stir fry and mix thoroughly and serve hot.

Njoy with your loved ones...

Luv...

Champa...

Japanese Sponge Cake (No Baking Powder & No Baking Soda)

Baking is one of most favorite things to do!!! I so love baking that the very aroma that fills the house is so tantalizing. My oven conked off a long time and ever since, I never got a chance to bake. I miss the aroma, the cake rising up to its glory and everything about baking.

Chefs Across Boundaries, an initiative started by a few of us foodies and bloggers gave me this wonderful opportunity to make this wonderful cake!!!

Every month is Chefs Across Boundaries, we have a new challenge. A new cuisine to learn and cook. The month of June was hosted by the gregarious Shaheen Ali of www.spoonforkandfood.com 

The cuisine of the month was Japanese. The minute I heard this, I was rather shocked than surprised because apart from Sushi & Noodles I just don't know anything. I have never even cooked anything from this cuisine. So then Google came to the rescue. But another shock was most of their food was non - vegetarian or they had ingredients which weren't easily available. 

Finally landed on this wonderful cake which had just he basic ingredients and was easy, yet tricky. 

Japanese Cuisine is just not about Sushi & Noodles. In fact they are masters in making beautiful looking desserts. 

A Japanese Sponge is very light, fluffy and is an important part of Western Style Desserts. This sponge uses no baking powder or baking soda and its just about beating eggs and sugar that makes the cake so wonderfully light.

There are two types of desserts Wagashi -  Japanese Style & Yogashi - Western Style. This is a Yogashi Dessert and is almost similar to a French Genoise Cake. 

Well beaten eggs and precise measurements of ingredients is the key to the success of this cake.

So now let's get down to the recipe. 

What you need:

1. Flour (Maida) - 90 grams
2. Sugar - 90 grams
3. Vanila Essence - 1 tsp
4. Eggs - 3
5. Butter - 20 grams
6. Milk - 1 tbsp
7. 7" cake pan
8. Parchment Paper

How to go about it:

1. All you ingredients must be at room temperature. 

2. First, melt the butter with the milk in a microwave. Not too hot. Just melted in the milk. Keep this 

aside. 

3. Sift the flour twice and keep aside. Cut a parchment paper according to the size of the cake pan. Place the paper on the bottom and along the sides of the pan. 

4. Pre heat the oven at 180 degree for 20 minutes.

5. Add the eggs and the sugar in a bowl. Keep this over a simmering water over low heat and whisk the eggs until it is luke warm and the sugar is dissolved. A double boiler set up.

6. Take the bowl of the pan. Now whisk the eggs until they are thick. This takes approximately 5 to 8 minutes. First start on with low speed and increase the speed. Do not over whisk. 

7. The consistency is called ribbon stage. The beaten mixture will fall like a ribbon. Stop whisking now.

8. Now, add the vanilla essence and with a spatula very gently fold the mixture. Do not use the beater anymore.

9. Sift the flour in 3 parts in to the mixture and very gently fold the flour in to it. Gentle because, you are not break the air incorporated into the eggs. This is the key to the lightness and spongy texture of the cake.

10. Finally, add the milk butter mixture and give a final fold. 

11. Put the cake pan into the oven and bake at 180 degree for 20 - 25 minutes.

Points to remember:

1. The oven should be hot when you are putting the cake pan inside. Cold oven or warm oven will not make a good sponge.
2. The eggs must be beaten well to incorporate air into them. This is the most important point.
3. Do not open the oven in between to check the process. 
4. Do not beat or whisk while you are adding the maida.
5. Do not let the batter sit out after you have folded the maida into the egg sugar mixture. Immediately you need to put in the oven.

Njoy with your loved ones...

Luv..

Champa

Penne Pasta in White Sauce

Pasta is one of the best comfort foods invented!!! I love to enjoy my bowl of pasta any day any time. I love pasta both in white and red sauce. 

The white sauce pasta was introduced to me by my grand mother. You don't believe right??? Yes, she was the one who made it first time for me. She was back from the States and one night when I was staying with her, she asked me will I have pasta for dinner. I did not know what was it, hence said yes. Because what ever my grand ma makes it turns out the best!!! 

The first time, I did not enjoy pasta so much because I felt it was quite bland and tasteless. But later as I grew I really started liking this dish. 

Usually, I used to make white sauce without maida in it. I just kept adding more cheese to thicken the milk. Also, I was little skeptical because the maida would form lumps and that doesn't taste nice. So kept evading from this method. 

Once when my husband and I tried a three mushroom pasta and spoke to the chef regarding how he makes, I was pretty confident of the procedure and ever since I make it the way he taught me. It is a never fail recipe and my husband loves it!!! 

What you need:

Servings: 2

1. Pasta - 1 cup 
2. Maida - 1 tbsp (heaped)
3. Milk - 2 cups
4. Cheese Slice - 2 (or) Grated Cheese - 2 tbsp
5. Mixed Herbs - 1 tbsp
6. Salt - to taste
7. Butter/ Ghee - 1 tbsp
8. Water - to boil the pasta

How to go about it:

1. Pour water into a pan and bring it to a rolling boil. Add little oil to the boiling water and add in the pasta. The boiling water bubbles helps the pasta to stay separated from one another.The pasta should be cooked to "Al Dente" - firm to bite. 
2. Take a bite from the cooking pasta and check. If you feel it is firm to bite and yet cooked, cook no further. Switch off the heat. Filter the pasta through a colander and wash it well with cold running water (this is to prevent the pasta to cook further)
3. Now, in a pan add the butter or ghee (I used ghee). The ghee should turn very hot. It should not burn but be very hot. 
4. Now add the maida. While adding maida, be ready with a whisk. Once you add maida, you will see the maida bubble up with the ghee. If you achieve this, then rest assured that the maida will not form lumps at all. So this is the most important step in the white sauce. 
5. While whisking the maida ghee mixture, slowly add the milk and keep whisking. The milk will start to thicken up now. 
6. The milk will start bubbling on sides, add salt and cheese. Let the cheese completely. 
7. Now, add the cooked pasta and the mixed herbs. Give a final mix, so that the pasta and the sauce mix to become homogeneous.
8. Your pasta is ready, serve hot!! 

Njoy with your luvd ones...

Luv..

Champa

Aish - el - Saraya (Lebanese Dessert)

This month recipe challenge of Chefs Across Boundaries was hosted by my very warm and wonderful friend Garima Sarolia Narera (blog link https://cafegarima.wordpress.com/). She chose Lebanese Cuisine. 

I've tries Lebanese food at restaurants but never made it at home. The food is mostly baked, grilled or sauteed. They include a lot of meats, seafood, vegetables and fresh fruits vegetables. 

I did not want to settle with very common recipes and hence had difficulty searching for recipes. Then cast my eye in this wonderful dessert. Archana's Kitchen came to my help for the recipe. 

Aish - el - Saraya is a pudding with sugar soaked rusks layered with sweet, creamy custard. It is eggless and eaten cold. Very inviting for the summers. I loved making this dessert and it was a big hit in my house.

What you need:

For the bottom layer:

1. Rusk - 30 nos
2. Sugar - 1 cup
3. Water - 1 cup
4. Rose water - 1 tbsp

For the custard:

1. Milk - 500 ml
2. Whipping cream - 300 ml
3. Condensed milk - 1 tin
4. Cornflour - 6 tbsp
5. Rose water - 1 tbsp
6. Chopped badam and pista - 2 tbsp

How to go about it:

1. In a pan, add sugar and water. Boil it until all of the sugar is completely dissolved. Boil for 5  more minutes and let it cool. 
2. In a tray (I took an 8' aluminium cake tray) arrange one layer of rusk. Pour the warm sugar syrup and then arrange another layer on top and pour the syrup again and let it sit for sometime.
3. In a heavy bottomed pan, combine condensed milk, whipping cream, cornflour (mixed with little cold milk), milk. Heat the mixture and keep stirring it until it turns to a think, but pouring consistency. 
4. Once thick, take off the heat and it should be let to cool. 
5. Once lukewarm, mix in the rose syrup and pour this mixture over the assembled rusks. 
6. Add the chopped nuts over the custard. 
7. The Aish - el - Saraya is ready. Let it refrigerate at lease until 4 hours.
8. Serve cold

Njoy with your lived ones...

Luv..

Champa