Friday, June 11, 2010

Chocolate Eclairs


Ingredients:
    For Pastry: 
Flour  - 2 oz ( 4 tblspn)
Butter  - 2 oz  (50 g)
Eggs -  2
Water  - 4 oz
   For Cream Filling: 
Whipped cream  - 1 cup
Icing sugar
  - 1 oz ( 2 tbspn)
  For Chocolate Icing: 
Milk  - 1 tblspn
Butter  - 1 oz 
Cocoa Powder -  2 tblspn
Cooking Chocolate  - 2 tblspn
Icing Sugar  - 4 oz
Whipped Cream -  2 tblspn
Water  - 1 tblspn
 
Method:
  1. Preheat the oven to 250°C. 
  2. Add water in a pan and boil, then add butter to it. When the butter melts, take off the heat and mix in all the flour very quickly till it joins together.
  3. add the eggs gradually and then put back on heat and mix till a soft dough forms. 
  4. Let the mixture cool and add it to a piping bag and pipe onto a baking sheet into long cylinders of 3 inches, then bake for 20 minutes.
  5. For cream filling, beat both the ingredients and put in a piping bag and let it cool in the fridge.
  6. For chocolate icing, mix butter, milk, cocoa powder and cooking chocolate in a saucepan till smooth. Add icing sugar and water. Take it off the heat and add cream.
  7. When the eclairs are cooked, let them cool, then cut in half lengthwise and pipe in the cream. Then add the chocolate icing onto the top. Ready!! Makes 6-8.

Lemon Meringue Pie


Ingredients:
    For Crust:

Unsalted Butter  - 125 g
Icing Sugar  - 1/3 cup
Flour  - 1 1/2 cup
Water  - if required

   For Lemon Curd Filling:

Egg Yolks  - 4
Butter  - 2 tblspn
Sugar  - 1/2 cup
CornFlour  - 6 tblspn
Lemons  - 8
Water  - 300 ml


   For Topping:

Egg Whites  - 4
Icing Sugar  - 1/2 cup


Method:

1. For the crust mix all the ingredients together and knead well. Now roll it by keeping the dough between 2 butter papers sprinkled with flour, till medium width is obtained.
2. place it in a pie dish by removing both the butter papers one by one. Press it firmly in the dish and remove the extra edges.
3. Blind Bake* it in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes. Take and remove the blind baking material and poke the base withe a fork and again put it in the oven for 10 minutes till finally done.

4. For filling, add water and 8 lemon's juice and rind in a saucepan. Add cornflour and whisk well on low flame.
5. Take of flame and add egg yolks, sugar and butter. mix and again put on flame and keep on whisking continuously till it thickens. let it cool.

6. For topping, beat the egg whites till fluffy, then gradually add icing sugar. Beat till its stiff and firm.

7. Now take the crust still placed in the pie dish, add the lemon curd filling evenly. Then add the snow topping carefully without mixing it with the filling. Cover the pie completely and then with a fork slightly touch the topping and raise to create mountains/peaks. Bake it at 220 degrees Celsius for 5 - 7 minutes only. Keep watching also, till the topping changes color to light golden. Ready!!

Chocolate Sauce



Ingredients:

Castor sugar  - 1 cup
Cocoa Powder  - 2 tblspn
Butter  - 1 tsp
Water  - 2 tblspn
Cream  - 2 tblspn

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients ecept the cream and cook it on low flame for 2 minutes till sugar dissolves.
2. Take it off flame and add the cream. Ready!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Lemon Tarts



Ingredients 
    For Crust:

Dairy Butter  -  4 oz ( 100 g)
Castor Sugar  - 2 1/2 oz ( 5 tblsp)
Vanilla Essence  - 1 tsp
Egg Yolk  - 1
Flour  - 6 oz ( 150 g)


   For Lemon Curd:

Lemon Juice  - 2 tblspn
Water  - 1/2 cup
Cornflour  - 1 tblspn
Vanilla Custard Powder  -  1 tblspn

Egg Yolks  - 2
Yellow Food Color  - 1/2 tsp
Sugar  - 4 oz ( 1/2 cup)
Butter  - 1 tblspn


Method:

  1. Beat butter well, then add sugar, vanilla essence and egg yolk. mix well.
  2. Now add the flour and knead with hand to make a soft dough and then put in the fridge for 15 minutes.
  3. After that take it out, it will be a bit stiff. Roll it into medium width, not too thin and not too thick, then cut out with a tart cutter (which has wavy edges).
  4. Take a slightly greased tart tray and place the cut out crust inside.
  5. Bake at 180 -190 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes, till firm.
  6. For lemon curd, in a saucepan add water, cornflour and custard powder and mix with a whisk well on low flame.
  7. Beat the egg yolks and add it to the above mixture while continuously stirring. The add the sugar also.
  8. Now add yellow color and keep on cooking gently on flame, don't let it curdle by not whisking continuously.
  9. When it thickens, take off the flame and add lemon juice and butter.
  10. Add it  to an icing bag and let it cool in the fridge.
  11. When cooled, decorate the crust with it and top it off with strawberry jam. Enjoy!! Makes 14

Crunchy Fiber Cookies with Peanut

Ingredients:

Eggs - 2
Margarine - 200 g
Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp
Brown Sugar - 250 g
Wheat Flour - 250 g
Wheat Fiber - 50 g
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Roasted Peanuts (slightly ground, chunky) - 250 g
Salt - a pinch

Method:

1. Beat margarine well with an electric beater, then add brown sugar and again beat.

2. Add eggs one by one and vanilla essence. beat well again.

3. Now in another bowl mix the dry ingredients, i.e. wheat flour, fiber, baking powder, roasted peanuts and salt together. Add it gradually to the butter mixture.

4. Mix till a crumbly hard mixture is formed. Now take 1 tablespoon of the mixture and add it to a foiled baking tray. Press a little with a fork to make an irregular cookie shape.

5. Put it in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. enjoy!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Paper Chicken



 Ingredients:

Chicken breast - 4
Corn flour - 1 tsp
Salt - ½ tsp
Chinese salt - ½ tsp
Soya sauce - 1 tbsp
Chili sauce - 1 tsp
Butter paper - 6 by 6 square
Oil for frying

Method:
1. Marinate chicken with all the above ingredients.
2. Make envelopes with butter paper.
3. Add 2 or 3 pieces of chicken in each envelope and seal it with one beaten egg.
5. Deep fry for 5 to 7 minutes. Ready! :)

Peri Peri Sauce

Ingredients:

Dried Peri Peri Chillies/Kashmiri Red Chillies (Whole) - 6
Red Chillies (Whole) - 12 to 15
Red Chillies (Crushed) - 2 tblspn
Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
White Vinegar - 1/2 cup
Onion (chopped) - 1 small sized
Lemon juice - 2 tblspn
Tartary - 1/2 tsp
Vegetable Oil - 1/2 cup
Salt  -  1 tsp

Method:

1. Soak the dried Peri Peri Chillies/Kashmiri Red Chillies and the whole red chillies overnight in about half to 1 cup water.

2. Then add these along with the soaked water to a blender with rest of the ingredients and blend till a smooth paste is formed.

3. Woalla!!! the sauce is ready!! :)