Announcing Microwave Easy Cooking (MEC): Essential Extras (Update)

I was like many of you in believing that microwaves are only for reheating until I attended a workshop on Microwave Cooking.That changed cooking at home where it was used for basic procedures but like always I soon got bored of it. However, I still continue to make rice in it on and off. Before I divert from the subject of this post, Micowave Easy Cooking (MEC) (originated by Srivalli of Cooking for All Seasons) is hosted right here at this blog for the month of May. The theme for the event is Essential Extras. By extras, I mean Chutneys, Raitas and Salads, or anything that you think, which forms the essential extra of your meal. For the event, what you need to do is to use the microwave for the entire process of coooking with the exception of he use of a blender/food processor for blending, whipping, etc.

Find below the rules:

1. Cook anything that is applicable of the above in the microwave and do a post on it on your blog from today to 31 May 2009.

Note: Posts on Safety, Tips and other things related to to the theme are also most welcome.

2. Add a link to the event announcement on Srivalli's blog and this announcement. Do use the logo if you choose to.

3. Multiple entries are permitted.Recipes submitted to other events accepted too.

4. Recipes from archives are permitted provided you do a new post on it.

5. Send me an email at tangerineskitchen(at)gmail(dot)com with the following details:

• Subject: MEC:Essential Extras
• Your Name
• Name of the Dish
• Your Post url
• A picture of the dish 250 X 250 wide.

4. If you are a non-blogger, not to worry: You can mail me all the details and I will gladly include it in the roundup.

5. This event accepts both vegetarian and non-vegetarian entries.

6. A roundup will be done a week later.

So keep the entries coming in. I will acknowledge each entry as and when I receive them and if you do not get a reply within two days, it means the entry has not reached me.

Rice with Paneer and Peas *Tried and Tested*

Aparna's Announcement for the Tried and Tasted event led me to Lisa's blog which was relatively new to me. Since the announcement, I have been at this new discovery of a blog almost everyday browsing through her lovely collection. Her blog is a typical example of her love for Indian food.

I chose to make her Rice with Paneer and Peas and am glad I did. Lisa's is a modified version of the recipe she had found in Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East Vegetarian Cooking. Paneer is an all time favourite and peas come in close too. And this being a rice made with very little effort, it was all the more enticing to try.

The recipe is as follows

1 C of basmati rice
1 C of fried paneer cubes
3 T of ghee, or a mixture of butter and oil
1 t of salt
1 large bay leaf
1 inch piece of cinnamon
3 whole black cardamom pods
2/3 C of peas (fresh or defrosted frozen peas)
2 hot green chilies or jalapenos, cut into fine half rings
1 t of cumin seeds

Wash the rice well and drain. Soak the rice in five cups of water and leave to saok for at least 30 minutes. Drain and leave to dry for another 10 - 20 minutes or so.

Heat the oil in a medium sized heavy pot over medium heat. When it is hot, add the bay leaf, cinnamon, and cardamom. Stir for a few seconds, and then add the drained rice, peas, salt, green chilies and cumin seeds. Stir and fry for 5 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil Cover, turn the heat to very low and cook for 15 minutes, or until the water is mostly evaporated. Take off the lid and quickly put in the paneer. Cover, and cook for another 2 - 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the rice sit, covered and undisturbed, for 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, cinnamon and cardamom and gently fluff with a fork. Serves 4.

This is my entry to the Tried and Tasted Event hosted at My Diverse Kitchen.

A Peanutbutter Cheesecake for the Daring Bakers

The Daring Bakers did cheescake this month, chosen by Jenny from JennyBakes.com. A basic cheesecake recipe was provided but what was best was that we could play with it in tems of flavour, toppings, decorations etc.

Every day during my visit to the forum, i was awed by the number of variations on display and I myself couldn't decide ona flavour. Lemon, fruits, chocolate and the like ran through my mind but I still remained undecided. I love cheecake and so there was no question of backing out.

I am a peanut butter fan and I chose to do this flavour. And since I stock up on peanutbutter the hassle of visiting the store was done away with. The only problem I had was in buying cream cheese. I made my own cream cheese from the Indian Cottage Cheese and it worked much better than store bought cream cheese that I had used here.

The best part of this cheesecake was that all the layers were made by me. I chose to do a shortbread base.

Shortbread base
125g Butter
40g Sugar
150g Flour

Work the above to a crumb-like mixture. Press this onto the base of the pan. I mixed in cocoa powder for a darker crust. Bake this in a preheated oven for almost an hour and then cool.

The cream cheese filling was a combination of cream cheese and peanut butter. Cream cheese was made by whizzing strained cottage cheese ina processor for a creamy consistency. The peanut butter for the filling was the chunky kind for it is a lovely bite when you have bits of peanuts in the filling. I baked it for an hour and a half and it set well. The topping was chocolate sauce with more cream and frosted the top with iced with creamy peanut butter and chocolate shavings. This was let to rest in the refrigerator overnight and served in the afternoon.

Verdict:
It is very rich and there's no way a person or rather in my family who could single-handedly finish one slice you see in the picture. Smaller slices and you are in peanut butter heaven!!!

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

An Apple Tart for Jane Austen

For the Book Makes me Cook Event, this month we chose to read any of Jane Austen's books. I chose to read Emma.

The story is about Emma Woodhouse who lives with her old father. Emma, a rich and clever young woman chooses to not to get married. She is content finding matches for her friends. This book though does not talk about any food in particular except for mentions of parties, balls or dinners.

Mr. Woodhouse, Emma's father is very anxious about everyone else's health and beleive that all are intoleant to food just like him. Mrs. Bates, a friend of Mr. Woodhouse was invited to a dinner at his place along with a few other guests. Mr. Woodhouse love to have the cloth laid. He loved to have the cloth laid, because it had been the fashion of his youth, but his conviction of suppers being very unwholesome made him rather sorry to see any thing put on it; and while his hospitality would have welcomed his visitors to every thing, his care for their health made him grieve that they would eat.
Mrs. Bates, let me propose your venturing on one of these eggs. An egg boiled very soft is not unwholesome. Serle understands boiling an egg better than any body. I would not recommend an egg boiled by any body else; but you need not be afraid, they are very small, you see - one of our small eggs will not hurt you. Miss Bates, let Emma help you to a little bit of tart - a very little bit. Ours are all apple-tarts. You need not be afraid of unwholesome preserves here. I do not advise the custard. Mrs. Goddard, what say you to half a glass of wine? A small half-glass, put into a tumbler of water? I do not think it could disagree with you.'

So here's my inspiration from the book, an apple tart, very wholesome at that. This tart is from the book Tarts and Pies by Hamlyn Cookery Club.

What you need are:

• 175g AP Flour
• 75g softened butter
• 75g Caster Sugar
• 3 Egg Yolks
• a few drops of vanilla essence

Filling:

• 1.5 kg Apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 50g Caster Sugar

Glaze:

• 4T Apricot Jam
• 2T Lemon Juice

Sift flour onto you working surface. Make a well in the centre, and add the butter, sugar, egg yolks and the vanilla essence. Work these and knead lightly to form a smooth dough. Chill this for an hour.

Roll out this dough into a thin sheet and line your loose-bottomed flan tin. Fill this with the sliced apples in overlapping layes. Sprinkle sugar and bake in a preheated oven at 190 degree C for about 40 inutes.

Meanwhile, heat the apricot jam with the lemon juice and strain. Brush this over the apples. Serve cold or warm. Tastes good eitherway.

Caramelized Apples-A Quick Dessert!

Taste and Create is an event I choose not to miss because it has been through this event that I have found a lot of lovely blogs. For this month I was paired with La Recette du Jour. I am new to her blog and she has many a traditional recipes. Like always I had bookmarked quite a many but narrowed down to this yummy dessert.

I used 1 medium sized apple, 2 slices of bread, 3tbsp of sugar, juice of 1/2 a lime and 3 tbsp of butter. Chop the skinned apples into small cubes. Add the lemon juice and the sugar to the apples. Remove the crusts from the bread and chop into same-sized cubes.

Prior to serving, melt the butter an d cook the apples along with the sugar and the lemon juice. The butter and sugar start to caramelize and the apples turn a golden brown. Remove this and fry the bread in the same pan. They turn crisp real fast. Add in the cooked apples. Give it a toss and serve. I would use more butter because the sauce was yummy and the amount that I got was meagre.

Veronica suggests serving it with icecream or cream but I couldn't resist it on its own.

A fantastic dessert that is very quick to churn out. I also added a pinch of cinnamon to this because I have always and still believe that apples and cinnamon are made for each other.

An Eggless Chocolate Cake...

Back from a short vacation filled with fun, am back home trying to ward off the laziness that has gotten into me. Before I left, I baked this cake to take along for a friend who isn't very fond of eggs. She asked for anything chocolatey and I knew it had to be a chocolate cake. After a sucessful attempt at eggless brownies, I was expecting a similar result.

The word eggless always leads me to a wonderful blog of delightful stuff-Madhuram's Eggless Cooking. She had made a layered cake for her son's birthday. I made a 9" cake minus the frosting between the layers. I used melted dark choclate as the frosting.

What you need for the cake are (Adapted from here)

• All Purpose Flour - 1 C
• Salt - 1/2 t
• Baking Powder - 1/2 t
• Baking Soda - 1 t
  Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - 3/8 C
• Granulated Sugar -1 C
  Apple Sauce- 1/2 C
• Hot Coffee - 1/2 C
• Tofu Milk - 1/2 C
  Silken Tofu, pureed - 1/2 of half a C
  Vanilla Extract - 1 t

Preheat the oven to 325F (160C). Grease and flour a 9-inch cake pan. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and sugar into a bowl. Make a well and add the canola oil follwoed by the hot coffee decoction, milk and the pureed tofu. And finally the vanilla essence.

Beat this batter at medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Pour this in the prepared pan and bake. Cool and then frost as she did or for a simpler yet yummy version, melt dark chocolate and pour over the cake and let it drip on its own.

Verdict:

A moist, dense cake that traveled 400km to reach its recipient who loved it.

Psst! This friend doesn't like anything with tofu!!!!

A Cold Salad....

I sure had a lovely Easter break enjoying food cooked by my mother. Finding it real hard to get back to the mundane routine back home. The daughter is keeping herself busy with her new found interests. I spend time buried in cookbooks only to glance at the pictures and not cook anything until meal times wishing and hoping A says we'll order in. I wonder if everyone goes through these phases. I do and am still in that phase.

In two days I'm on a weekend trip and to finish the perishable goods, I had no other go but use them up and this is what I came up with.

A cold salad consisting of some of my favourite ingedients: potatoes, boiled chicken and scallions with mayo.

Scallions for their mildness and I tend to use them a lot in mysoups and salads to a larger extent.

I like chicken the most in its simplest form i.e. boiled with salt and pepper.

Potatoes are a main stay for my family; whether grilled, mashed or just plain boiled, it is definitely a favourite.

Mayonnaise a favourite among a lot of people and though it has a high fat content, I chose to ignore that fact sometimes.

What you need are:

• 2 cups of boiled chicken (cubed)
• 2 cups of boiled potatoes (cubed)
• 1 cup of scallions(chopped)
• Mayonnaise- 4 tbsp
• Salt and pepper- to suit one's palate
• Lettuce Leaves

Add the boiled chicken and potates to a bowl. Season it with salt and pepper. Add in the mayo and toss it gently ensuring that you do not break the chicken or the potatoes. Refrigerate until you serve.

Wash and pat dry the lettuce leaves and arrange them in a bowl. Allow this to chill.

Before serving, spoon the salad onto the bed of lettuce leaves. Arrange sliced of boiled eggs if you choose to.

A simple but a beautiful looking salad. You could always substitute the calorie loaden Mayo with pureed cottage cheese, sour cream or any dressing. It works with all of them.

Crazy for D-O-N-U-T-S

My family and I are crazy for donuts. I remember from my younger days when I wanted my mother to fry donuts at each occassion, be it a b'day, a treat, a get together or anything. So the recipe is hers and I follow it too.

What you need for about 10 medium-sized donuts are:

• Eggs-2
• AP Flour- 2.5 C
• Yeast-1t
• Warm Milk-1/8th of a Cup
• Butter-1T
• Salt-a pinch
• Sugar-1T
• Oil for deep frying

Stir in the yeast and sugar into the warm milk and allow to froth.

Beat the eggs to a frothy consistency. Add in the flour and the eggs to make a dough.

Pinch out 10 balls and roll them each into 1/2 " thickness circle and cut using a donut cutter.

Set aside for this to double in size.

Deep fry in oil and drip chocolate sauce or anything that fancies your palate.

My family desired chocolate sauce and powdered sugar as toppings and that is what they got.

On another note, Aparna and I baked Greek Easter cookies at our baking blog.



There's more at World in our Oven. Incase you haven't been there as yet, do head over there so that you do not miss out on what's baking in our oven.

Eggless Chocolate Walnut Brownies

My daughter's school closed for summer vacation yesterday and she is upset about it. The reason being she's going to miss her teachers and has come to the conclusion that she does not want to go to Sr. Kindergarten. She's been sulking all afternoon and I made something to cheer her up. She loves chocolate so probably and I was hoping it would cheer her up. So I made these brownies from Sunita's World. I haven't tried an eggless version as yet for my baked goods for fear of moistless brownies.

Sunita's brownies according to her had the texture of a pudding and she mentioned she was reducing the amount of oil the next time she makes these. So keeping that in mind I increased the amount of apple sauce and lessened the amount of oil.

What you need are :( Adapted from here)

• 8 T of oat flakes
• 1 C walnut pieces
• 4 T of muscovado sugar
• 2 T of cocoa powder
• 100 gms of dark chocolate melted and slightly cooled
• 5 T of applesauce (without the sugar)
• 1 T of oil
• 1 and 1/2 C of milk

Process the oats to a rough mixture. Chop the walnuts.
Whisk milk, sugar, oil and applesauce in a bowl. Fold in the oats and the melted chocolate.Transfer this into a foiled baking pan and sprinkle the chopped walnuts over it.Bake in a 180 deg C preheated oven for about 45 minutes. Cool and then cut into squares.

The brownies were moist, delicious and the daughter loved it. It had a crumbly texture and this recipe was definitely worth trying. Iresistibly delcious brownies.

Ok got to run now to find summer camps to keep my daughter occupied !!!