Methi Dal (Yellow Pigeon Peas with Fresh Fenugreek Leaves)

Methi (fenugreek), whether used as a herb or a spice adds a wonderful flavour to Indian cuisine.  However, there are other uses for Methi and you might want to check the Wikipedia for this.

Methi, in its fresh form can be used to make side dishes like Aloo Methi (potatoes with fenugreek), Methi ka Paratha (Indian flat bread with fenugreek), Methi Pulao (rice with fenugreek) - you name it!

I had been getting a little bit bored with my dal recipes, so when I happened to come across this one I thought it might be a great idea to give it a try.  This recipe isn't mine.  Purna Chowdhury, a very accomplished culinary enthusiast, was really kind to share this recipe with some of us.  If you want to find more of her fantastic recipes, please go ahead and check her out on Facebook.

If you are interested, you might ask her to add you to the foodie group I found this recipe in.  She has a fantastic repertoire of different types of cuisine, and if you're nice and make a request for a specific recipe, she might pull it out of her hat just for you!

Additionally, there are hundreds of other foodies sharing their recipes (me included ;-)), so this should be incentive enough to go join the group.  But do remember - to get some, you need to give some.  Only fair, right?!  So, share your favourite recipes and get some from the others.

The dal turned out fabulous and I might try this in future with spinach to replace the methi.  And to add a note, I served this daal with a squish of lime over hot and fluffy basmati rice with Aloo Methi on the side (another friend's recipe, but I didn't have the time to take any pictures).

To prepare your fresh Methi, my friend Swati told me that you should first pluck the leaves from the stalks, making sure you don't include the stalk, and then wash the leaves thoroughly.  Once you've cleaned the leaves of the sand and grit, soak in cold, saline water for about 20 minutes.  When ready, wring the water out of the leaves and chop them up roughly and you're good to go.  Thanks for the tip, Swati! :)

You will need:
Toor Daal (yellow pigeon peas): 250 gm (cooked with a little salt and turmeric)
Two cups of fresh Methi (fenugreek) leaves/two small blocks of frozen Methi
Whole cinnamon and cloves: 1 tsp
Grated garlic: 1 tsp
Grated ginger: 1tsp
Tomatoes: 2-3
Cinnamon powder: 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder: 1tsp
Fresh coriander, chopped: 1/2 cup
Vegetable oil: 1 tbsp
Ghee: 1 tsp (optional)Salt to taste
Method:

1. Add the oil to the pan and add all the whole spices. 
2. Add garlic, ginger; saute for half a minute on low heat.
3. Add the chopped methi, tomatoes and salt; let it turn to a gravy.
4. Add the cinnamon and coriander powders and stir till the mix is consistent. 
5. Add the daal and stir well; cook for another 5 minutes or so till well blended.
6. Add a teaspoon of ghee (optional) and serve garnished with coriander.

Happy smacking-your-lips! :)

Red Velvet Cupcake

After my lazy version of the Chocolate Lava cake turned out to be a flop, I was looking for another recipe that had chocolate in it.  I will try the lava cake again and let you know how it turned out, but for now, here's something else.

I had Red Velvet cupcakes in mind for a while now as well, so I recently went and dug the recipe out from my archives (and yes, my archive for recipes to try is quite a large one, so stay tuned for future recipe posts).

I adapted the recipe from the original, which I almost always do (call it some kind of cheap pleasure at perpetually wanting to bend the culinary rules; mind you, I never break the law, though!).  I mostly used my own measurements for flour and butter as I normally use for my regular cupcakes, simply because I like their light and fluffy texture.  However, I found the Red Velvets a little bit on the heavier side, probably because of the buttermilk the recipe called for.

Please read on for my version of the recipe.  Not too many images this time, as I baked in the evening, and there wasn't much time to try out different setups.  I also wanted to try my hand at using artificial lighting for my food photography, and this was actually one of those exercises.  I don't have very high-end lighting equipment, but what I have right now will need to be tweaked a little further, so I can get some nice results.  An exercise for another occasion.

The Cupcake
Self-raising flour - 150 gms (5 oz)
Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Unsalted butter, softened at room temperature - 1/4 cup
Granulated sugar - 150 gms (5 oz)
Buttermilk - 1/2 cup
Egg (large) - 1
Pure vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Red food coloring - a few drops

Low Fat Cream Cheese Frosting
Icing or confectioner's sugar - 1 cup
Low-fat cream cheese, softened at room temperature - 125 gms
Unsalted butter, softened at room temperature - 50 gms
Milk - 1 tbsp
Pure vanilla extract - 1 tsp

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees C. Line a muffin pan with cup cake liners and set aside. 
2. In a small bowl mix together the first 5 ingredients and set aside.  
3. In a separate bowl, cream together the sugar and butter, until light and fluffy.
4. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.
5. Add half of the dry ingredients and half of the buttermilk, making sure it's combined.
6. Add the remaining half of the dry ingredients and buttermilk; combine everything together but do not over mix.
7. Add enough food coloring to get the desired red color for your cupcakes.
8. Using a spatula mix the batter thoroughly making sure nothing is left on the sides of the bowl.
9. Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop the batter evenly into your prepared cupcake liners and bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick  inserted  in the center comes out clean.
10. Let the cupcakes cool completely before you frost them.
11. To make the frosting, simply put all the frosting ingredients into a bowl and mix well with an electric hand mixer.
12. Mix until well combined and the frosting has a thick-ish consistency.  You can adjust the consistency by adding a tablespoon of milk at a time if it's too thick, or adding a tablespoon of sugar at a time if it's too runny.
13. Frost the cupcakes either with a little spatula or use a piping bag fitted with a plain large tip.
14. Let cool in the fridge for about 10 to 15 minutes to allow them to set a little before serving (if you can resist them anyway)

Strawberry Cupcakes

Thanks to my son, now I have to bake my cupcakes and eat them too! :(  Not good, considering I shouldn't be consuming any more sugar than I already do.  I should have self control, you say?  Well, if you knew what kind of internal battles I fight every time I look at a sugary treat, you would know I'm trying really hard.

I got the idea of strawberry cupcakes because I found strawberries at unseasonably low prices at my neighbourhood grocery store.  And since I'd been promising to bake cupcakes for the past month, I thought I should just seize the opportunity and the berries and put them to good use.  

I recently indulged in some baking tools and this would be the best occasion to break out my neat little cupcake liners.  I love the pattern and thought they would be perfect for the pink delights. 

I'm not that great at piping, but thought I'd take the opportunity to just use the pastry tips the best I can.  Didn't turn out too bad in the end, did they?

Enjoy your cupcake with a glass of milk, or a cuppa tea or coffee! 

Here's the super-easy recipe!

The Cupcake

Self-rasing flour - 150 gms (5 oz)

Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - a couple of pinches

Granulated sugar - 150 gms (5 oz)

Butter (room temperature) - 150 gms (5oz)

Eggs, beaten (room temperature) - 3 (medium)

Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp

Strawberry essence - 1tsp

The Low-Fat Cream Cheese Frosting

Light cream cheese (room temperature) - 125 gms 

Butter - 100 gms

Confectioner's/icing sugar - 8 0z

Strawberry essence - 1 tsp

A few strawberries and other decorations for the topping

Method

The cupcake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg C.
2. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners, or grease it and keep aside.
3. Put the butter in a bowl and beat with an electric beater for a minute or so.  
4. Add the sugar (preferably sifted), a bit at a time and beat until light and fluffy.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
5. Add the vanilla essence and then slowly add the eggs; continue beating for another minute or so.  You might find the mixture curdling a bit, but don't worry, it's normal.
6. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in another bowl.
7. Add the dry ingredients to the wet.  Start on a low speed and gradually increase the speed till the mixture is light and fluffy again.
8. Fill the cupcake pans halfway to the top with the batter.
9. Bake for about 18 - 23 mins.  You will need to check the cupcakes at the 18 min. mark so see if a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.  If you see a few wet crumbs, leave them in for a couple of mins. and check again.  Baking them too long can make them chewy and dense.
10. Once the cupcakes are done, let stand for a couple of minutes and them remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

The frosting

1. In a bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese till fluffy.
2. Slowly add the sugar and strawberry essence.  
3. Add the cream, if using.
4. Beat on high for 3 - 4 mins. till light and fluffy. The mixture should form firm peaks.
5. If the mixture looks too runny, add more sugar; if it looks too thick, add a teaspoon full of cream at a time to bring it to piping consistency.
6. Use a piping bag to pipe the frosting on to completely cooled cupcakes, or use a knife to slather on the frosting. 
7. Top with fresh strawberries or other decorations.

Chef's tip: I prefer to keep it low in fat and sugar, but you are very welcome to use the full fat cream cheese and sweeten it to your taste as well.  The original recipe called for 2 cups of sugar, but I used only a cup (8oz).  Additionally, I omitted the cream.  If you use 2 cups of sugar, you will definitely need some cold whipping cream to thin the frosting down a bit and add some fluffiness.  Cream makes it lighter on the palette, but it's far from lighter on the system, if you know what I mean!

And by the way, keep a look out for my Chocolate Lava Cake recipe to come in the next couple of weeks, if not sooner. :)  

Announcement: My Work Gets Published

I've been meaning to post this for a while, but something or the other always got in the way.  My recipe and food photography was recently published.  It's the blueberry trifle recipe that I've already posted, but seeing  it on another website is so much more exciting.

You can find the recipe here.

Blueberry Trifle with Lemony Mascarpone Topping

If you are a fan of desserts, especially desserts that contain berries, you'll love this one. I have a really easy recipe for the blueberry sauce, which I use a lot in my crepes and pancakes.   However, the main recipe is borrowed and adapted.  Besides using my own blueberry sauce recipe and adding a larger quantity of lemon zest and essence in the topping, I mostly stayed true to the original.

Recipe for Blueberry Sauce

You will need:

Blueberries, frozen or fresh - 2 cups

Water - 1 cup + 2 tbsps

Sugar - To taste (I use about 3 heaping tbsps)

Lemon juice - 2 tbsps

Salt - a pinch

Cornstarch - 2 tbsps

Directions:

1. Wash the blueberries, if using fresh, and put them to boil in a saucepan with a cup of water.  
2. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 8 - 10 mins till they are cooked.
3. Add sugar, salt and lemon juice and simmer for an additional minute while stirring the sauce to make sure that the sugar is distributed evenly.
4. Dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tbsps of water and add to the simmering sauce.
5. Stir continuously as it starts to thicken, and slowly bring to a boil one last time.
6. Remove from heat and let stand covered. 
7. You can store this in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Recipe for the Mascarpone Topping

You will need:

Mascarpone cheese - 225 gms

Heavy cream - 3/4 cup

Sugar - 1/4 cup

Lemon zest  from 2 medium lemons

Lemon essence - 4 - 5 drops

Piping bag with tip (optional)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and the lemon zest.  Use your fingertips to really mix these ingredients well.
2. In a medium bowl, add the mascarpone, cream, sugar and lemon zest mixture and lemon essence.  Beat with an electric beater until the mixture is light and fluffy and it forms moderately firm peaks. 
3. Spoon into a piping bag with tip attached (if using), or set aside.

Assembling The Trifle

What you will need:

Pound cake - 4 thick slices, cubed

Blueberry sauce - 1 portion (recipe above)

Mascarpone topping - 1 portion (recipe above)

Trifle dishes/dessert cups - 4

Directions:

1. In the cups, pipe or spoon a layer of mascarpone topping.
2. Add a layer of cubed pound cake.
3. Add a layer of blueberry sauce.
4. Repeat the above steps.
5. Finally, top off with a swirl of mascarpone, or a spoonful of blueberry sauce.

The end result is super delicious!  Check out the original recipe at My Baking Addiction - an absolutely amazing blog! The mascarpone cheese makes this really rich, so even a small serving goes a long way to throw any diet off its course!  And, watch out - this could be addictive! :)