MOCHA CHOCO CHIP MUFFINS

Lately, I’ve been bitten by the baking bug.Today, I baked a batch of Mocha Chocolate Chip Muffins.These addictive muffins have a subtle flavor of coffee and a pronounced taste of chocolate.

Mocha Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe

Preparation: 10 mts, Baking: 20 mts

Makes approx 16-18 medium size muffins

.

Ingredients:

2 cup flour (maida)

1 cup sugar + 2 tbsps

2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 tbsp instant coffee pwd

1 1/2 tbsps cocoa pwd

2/3 cup low fat milk

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

3/4 cup chocolate chips

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven.
2 In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking pwd and salt. Use a whisk to combine. Set aside.
3 In another bowl melt the butter and while its still warm, stir in coffee pwd and cocoa pwd.
4 In another bowl, mix eggs, milk and vanilla.
5Add the egg mixture and butter mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
6 Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin liners till three-fourths full. Bake for about 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7 Place on a wire rack to cool and remove muffins from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note:

To make it eggless replace the eggs with a large mashed banana and 3 tbsps yogurt.

THEY TASTE YUMMILICIOUS, happy cooking, njoi... :) :)

Cheese Cake

hey frnds.... 
just as i mentioned in m last post, i tried paneer for the first tym, i still had some paneer left.
i love sweet dishes but dint kno wat to make with paneer, then an idea was given by my sis- CHEESE CAKE. 
hmmm... i really like 'em, and the other nyt i desperately wanted to have it, but could'nt go outside, coz it was 1.00 am, so thot y not i make it for myself, and thus made it, it was a gud try, and the cake was finished in an hour, and then i made it again the following morning. so here's the recipe.....

CHEESE CAKE


Ingredients
Crust

2 cups (approxiamtely 250 grams) finely ground marie biscuits
1/2 cup (1 stick/4 oz./113g) unsalted butter, melted 
1/4 cup powdered sugar


Filling 

450gms paneer (at room temperature) 
1 cup powdered sugar 
Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon 
2 tsp. vanilla extract 
4 eggs, separated 
1/2 cup  heavy cream 


Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C. Lightly coat the bottom and sides of an 8-inch (20cm) tin (preferably with a removable base) with oil.

To Make the Crust: 
In a mixing bowl, combine the marie biscuits powder, sugar and the melted butter with a fork until evenly moistened. Spoon the biscuit mixture into the prepared tin and, using the bottom of a measuring cup or the smooth bottom of a glass, press the crumbs down into the base and 1-inch up the sides. Chill crust in refrigerator until ready to fill. 

To Make the Filling: 
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese on low speed for 1 minute, until smooth and free of any lumps. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and continue to beat slowly until combined, then beat in cream. Gradually add sugar and beat until creamy, for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the strained lemon zest, and vanilla. Periodically scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters. Beat until well combined and the mixture is light and fluffy (the batter should be well combined but not overmixed). 

Using clean electric beaters or a balloon whisk, whisk the egg whites in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Using a large metal spoon, fold beaten egg whites into cream cheese mixture until just combined. 

Pour the mixture into the chilled crust. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until just set in the center. Loosen the cheesecake from the sides of the pan by running a thin metal spatula around the inside rim. Let cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Chill in the refrigerator, loosely covered, for at least 4 hours to overnight to set. Remove 30 minutes before serving.
Slice the cheesecake with a thin, non-serrated knife that has been dipped in hot water and wiped dry after each cut.




TIP-Do not overbeat the mixture as it may lead to cracks on the surface.
As far as the over baking of cheesecakes goes, this is a common problem as it is difficult to know when a cheesecake is done. 
The thing to remember is that you want the cheesecake to be firm but, if you shake the pan gently, it should still wobble a little, and the center will still look a little wet. 
For even though the center may not look fully baked, once it cools it will firm up and be the correct consistency.



Cheesecakes are cakes that should not to be eaten straight away as they need to cool and then be refrigerated for several hours, preferably overnight, so the flavors have time to blend and the texture becomes nice and firm.



Happy cooking... :) :) :)

Paneer Tikka

hey frnds... the other day when i was in supermarket my mom asked me to get paneer, i got it, but i dint make any recipes till now with paneer, so i was confused as to wat i shud make, my mom suggested for paneer tikka, tho it was first time, i did try it and that too without oil, and my mom finished within minutes. hope u like them too, so here's the recipe...

PANEER TIKKA


Ingredients
2 cups paneer , cut into 50 mm (2") cubes
1/2 cup capsicum cut into 50 mm. (2") pieces
1/2 cup onion, cut into 50mm (2") pieces
1/2 cup hung curd
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp kasuri methi
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp chopped coriander

1 tsp chaat masala
1 tsp tandoori masala
salt to taste


Method
Combine the curds, ginger paste, garlic paste, chilli powder, chaat masala, kasuri methi, garam masala, tandoori masala, coriander, and salt and mix well to prepare a marinade.
Add the paneer and capsicum to it and keep aside for 15 minutes.
Thread the marinated paneer, capsicum, and onion in a combination of your choice.
Cook the tikka on a non-stick pan, turning sides every minute, just for about 4-5 minutes.
Serve hot with raita or mint chutney.




TIP- Do not cook the paneer for more than 5 minutes, coz it will result in rubbery paneer.
U can cook the tikka directly over the stove/burning coal-gives a smoky taste.

Rich Bread & Butter Pudding

hey frnds...
i got this recipe from sethna maam, she's the one who taught me the basics of baking. seriously watever iam baking these days is due the basics taught by her and this recipe was given by her, so thot y not give it a try...
so i tried it and the result was very yummmmyyyy... so here's the recipe..

RICH BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

Ingredients

White bread-8 slices

Butter- 50gms

Dried mixed fruit, soaked in juice of 1 orange- 50 gms

Milk-300ml

Cream-150ml

Powdered sugar- 50gms

Egg yolks-4

Brown (demerera) sugar- 1tbsp

Vanilla essence- 2tsp

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease a medium sized baking tray.

Remove the crusts from the bread with a knife. Butter one side of the bread and cut each slice into 4 triangles.

Strain the mixed fruit reserving the juice. Arrange the bread, buttered side up, in the prepared dish. Sprinkle the fruit between the layers.

Put the milk, cream, powdered sugar, reserved orange juice, vanilla essence and egg yolks into a mixing bowl. Beat well until blended. Sprinkle the demerera sugar over the bread. Pour the sauce evenly over the top.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown on top. 

Serve warm with cream or ice-cream.

Njoi............ :) :)

Chocolate Muffins

hey frnds....
i have some cuzins who r really young and who like foods like muffins, chocolates, cakes etc...
i dint want to make cakes or chocolates, coz they are a laborious process 2 do, so i wanted 2 do something simple yet tasty and which the kids will like.
i chanced upon this recipe in  some of the collections of recipes i had, thot y not give it a try...
and i did give it a try and they came out really well.. so here's the recipe....

CHOCOLATE MUFFINS


Ingredients


Maida-1 3/4 cups
Brown sugar- 1 1/4 cups
Cocoa powder- 2/3 cup
Baking powder- 1 tsp
Soda- 1 tsp
Salt- 1/2 tsp
Chocolate chips- 1 cup
Mix all these ingredients in a bowl, use fingers to crumble if any lumps are present.


Eggs-2
Buttermilk- 1cup (can b replaced with 1cup milk +1tbsp lemon juice/vinegar)
Vanilla essence- 2tsp
Melted white butter-1/2 cup.


Method
Pre heat the oven at 180 degrees C.
In another bowl take eggs and whisk them for a minute, add the buttermilk, vanilla and melted butter. whisk all of them again for a minute.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Fold in lightly.
Bake it for 20 min.


TIP- If u dont have chocolate chips u can add two regular bars of grated cadbury dairy milk chocolate(10 rs. ones).
To check if its done, u will be able to see cracks on the top of the muffins.


Happy cooking :) :)
Njoi.....

CHOCOLATE TARTS

hey frnds...

chocolate- who does'nt like chocolates, almost every 2nd person likes chocolate, and there are few ppl who are crazy abt dem (which includes few of my frnds), but are'nt u tired having the same mode of having chocolate, i mean wen u say chocolate wat comes 2 ur mind- a block/cake/souffle...

i mean i also like chocolate but i want to make something new from chocolate rather than having the same stuff.

so i tried this new recipe which by god's grace came out well, so here it goes.

CHOCOLATE TART

Ingredients

For tart shells

Maida-200gms (2 1/4 cups)

Salted butter-100 gms (cold)

Baking powder-a pinch

Powdered sugar-2tbsp

Ice cold water-3-4tbsp

Truffle filling

Chocolate-300 gms (softened)

Cream-1/2 cup

Method

Cut the cold solid butter into small pieces.

Add baking powder, sugar and butter to maida. Rub the butter into the flour with the finger tips till it resembles bread crumbs.

Add 2-3 tbsp cold water. Bind into a dough of rolling consistency. Knead lightly.

Roll out large chapati of 2mm thickness. 

Cut out small circles (the circles shud be bigger than the tart mould) and fit them into tart mould. Prick with a fork. Bake them for 5 minutes at 200 degrees C. Take out from oven, and let it cool.

For the filling, break chocolate into small pieces and put in a heavy bottomed nonstick pan, add cream and stir on low heat. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously on low heat. Do not let it boil. Remove from heat wen smooth and glossy. cool to room temperature.

To fill the tart shell drop a spoonful of filling in the centre to fill empty space. Garnish with chopped walnuts.

Refrigerate till serving time.

Njoi......

Happy cooking :) :)

Choco Lava Cake

hey frndz....
have u tried the choco lave cake at KFC or dominoes, also known as choc 'amor. thesoft chocolate muffin, with melting chocolate in the centre. I just love it, I would usually go 2 KFC just for that, until yesterday, wen i came across its recipe.
i thot y not give a try, if it does'nt turn out good, then i can still go 2 KFC. 
So i tried it in the evng 2day, and it did turn out well and really yummy.
Here's the recipe

CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKE
Ingredients


Eggs-3 whites and yolks separated
Powdered sugar-1/3 cup
White (unsalted) butter- 1/2 cup
Chocolate- 180gm
Vanilla essence-1tsp
Salt-a pinch


Method
Grease the muffin moulds with butter and dust with powdered sugar.
Double boil chocolate and butter until the chocolate melts.
Beat egg yolks with powdered sugar until thick and pale yellow colour. (u'll know its done, wen u take a spoon and drop it, if the mixture falls in ribbons, then its done, it usually takes 5-10 minutes with a hand beater, and 2-3 minutes with an electric beater)
In a separate bowl beat egg whites with salt till soft peaks form.
Mix the egg yolks mixture, vanilla essesnce and chocolate mixture, and blend it till  a uniform mixture is obtained.
Now fold in the egg whites into the chocolate mixture gradually.
Drop the mixture in the moulds till 3/4th.
Bake it for 10 minutes at 200 degrees C.
The cake will rise, but after some time it deflates, its normal.


After eating this, i don't think u'd ever want 2 eat at KFC or dominoes again.


Njoi.......

Chicken Popcorned...

hi frndz...
this is another of my innovations, tried 2day and alhamdulillah it turned out well.
No this is not Popcorn Chicken, this is a different recipe.

CHICKEN POPCORNED
Ingredients


Boneless chicken-100 gms, cut into bite sized pieces
Maida-2 tbsp
Salt- to taste
chat masala-1 tsp
Act II popcorn- 1 packet
Red chilli Powder- 1tsp
Water-1tbsp


Method
Make the popcarn, and coarsely grind it. Keep aside.
Clean the chicken thoroughly, add 1/2tsp of chat masala and salt, mix them and keep aside.
Make a thick batter of maida, chat masala, red chilli powder, salt and water.
take the chicken pieces one at a time, dip in the maida batter and roll in the popcorn powder and shallow fry until golden brown.
Serve hot with tomato sauce.
Njoi....




TIP-Oil does'nt get absorbed if the batter is fresh, and also if its rice bran oil (there is no difference in taste if rice bran oil is used)

Simple and easy Eggless cake

hey frndz...
There are few of my frnds who like cake, but are vegetarians, so they kinda have hard time to get eggless cakes, and sometimes they do get eggless cakes, but the price is high comparitively 2 the ones containing egg.
So thanx to those frnds of mine, that i started to make eggless cEE akes.

following is one of those recipes.




CHOCOLATE EGGLESS CAKE


Ingredients
Condensed milk-1/2 can
Baking powder-1tsp
soda bi-carb-1/2 tsp
Cocoa powder- 1tbsp
Chocolate powder-1tbsp
Maida- 1cup
melted butter- 2tbsp
vanilla essence-1tsp
water- 1/4 cup


Method
Sieve maida, chocolate powder, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda, twice.
Mix condensed milk, water, vanilla and melted butter thoroughly.
Grease a 7" (inch) baking tin with butter and dust it with maida.
mix the maida mixture with the milk mixture, beat till the mixture is uniform.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Tap well.
Bake at 200 degrees C for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180 degrees C and bake for 15 minutes.
Cool it, and njoi... 
Alternatively u can decorate it with dry fruits/ fresh fruits/ cream/ powdered sugar.


*TIP-Tastes best with ice-cream and chocolate sauce.

Easy cake

hey frndz....
People usually think, making a good cake takes lot of time, requires precision, etc...
I try to make cakes the simplest way possible. my funda is if it requires more than an hour 2 prepare a cake, better dont make it, so i try 2 innovate and make them in a simple way. Dont worry if u dont have an oven, u can  use a double boiler or steam it. The following recipe is one of those innovations which i've tried over the past few months.

EASY CHOCOLATE SPONGE CAKE
Ingredients


Maida-1 cup
Butter-1/4 cup
Brown sugar-3/4 cup
Baking powder-1/4 tsp
Cocoa powder-1/2 cup
Milk- 3/4 cup
Eggs-3-lightly beaten


Method
Grease a baking pan with butter/oil and dust it with a little maida.
Mix all the ingredients and beat it for about 2-3 minutes.
Pour the mixture in the greased pan.
Bake at 180 degrees for 20 min.
If u dont have an oven u can try an alternate method- take a narrow mouthed pan and add water to about 3/4th of it, then place the greased pan over this pan, and steam for 25-30 minutes.


Check with the help of a toothpick/knife at the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean then ur cake is done. Or else cook for another 5-10 minutes.


U can have it warm or cold. Just drizzle the cake with melted chocolate or Hershey's syrup.


Njoi.......

Energize ur day

hey frnds...
everyone is in a hurry, especially in the mornings.
Rushing 2 college/office/school. Most of the time people miss out the breakfast.
Even i used 2 miss my breakfast almost everyday. But i realised the importance of breakfast especially during long hours of clinical postings.
Dats wen i realised the importance of breakfast.
The following recipe takes less than a minute for preparation, and is ready in a jiffy.




BANANA BREAKFAST SHAKE
Ingredients


Bananas-2
yogurt-1/2 cup (optional)
milk-1/2 cup
salt-a pinch
sugar-1/2 tsp (optional)


Method
Put all the ingredients in a blender, and blend for 45 seconds.


Ur breakfast smoothie is ready in a jiffy

Omlette Du Moelleux

many ppl like eggs, some like it poached/boiled/sunny side up/scrambled.
Everyone has their own way of cookin eggs.
Well.....this is my way...

Take one egg, add 1 tbsp of milk, and a pinch of salt, give it a whip in the mixie for 5 seconds.
lightly grease a pan, keep it on a slow flame, add the egg mixture, cover it and let it cook for abt 3 min, remove the lid, turn it, and let it cook again for a min.
fluffy omelette is ready. 
Garnish with chopped coriander.


u can season it with herbs/masala of ur choice and relish it.


do lemme know, how u got it.

Coffee La Rejuve

hi frndz...
i know u must be thinking, who does'nt know how 2 make coffee, but seriously can u make the best coffee???

even i can't :(

but i try 2 improve my coffee day by day.

The following recipe is something unique. 

INGREDIENTS
coffee-1 1/2tsp
sugar-1tsp
water- 3tbsp
milk-1/2 cup
elaichi powder-a pinch


METHOD
In a mixie take coffee, sugar and water, run the mixie for about 25 seconds.
Empty the contents in a cup.
Warm the milk, just so that tiny bubbles appear at the corner, add elaichi powder to it, and then give it a single boil, switch off the stove.
Now sieve the milk into the cup, mix it with  a spoon.
Wait for 10 seconds.
Ur coffee is ready.


Take a deep breath and relax into ur wonderful memories with ur mug of coffee 2 ur lips.....
Njoi..... :)