Chocolate Brownie

This is one of the first chocolate cakes I baked in my oven. It is a no-fail easy recipe and I vouch by it.

You can easily double the recipe, but you might want to reduce the sugar, as it can get too sweet.
Powder your sugar, then measure it.
Measure the other ingredients and keep them ready.

If you do not have cocoa powder, do not worry, make a Blondie instead of a brownie!

When I bake the below quantity of ingredients, I use a loaf tin. And when I double the recipe, I use a square tin. As both my tins are non-stick, I just grease the tins. If you are using Aluminium tins, then you MUST line the tin with butter paper and grease it again. Keep the tins also ready.
Preheat the oven for 10 minutes at 180 C.
By the time the 10 minutes are up, the batter will be ready.

Ingredients:
Sugar - 1 cup, powdered (can be reduced to 3/4 cup)

Fat (vegetable oil / butter at room temperature) - 1/2 cup

Cocoa powder - 1/3 cup

Eggs - 2

Vanilla / bourbon essence - 1 tsp

Flour - 2/3 cup

Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - a pinch

Chopped almonds / walnuts - 1/2 cup (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven at 180 C for 10 minutes.
Sieve together flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Mix in the some or all the chopped nuts and keep aside.

Beat the butter / oil and sugar until creamy and add eggs one at a time. Beat well.

Add the essence and mix well.
Add the sieved powders and fold well into the mixture. Do not beat.

Pour into the greased tray and decorate with any left over nuts.

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes at 180C.

Cool for 30 minutes, un-mould, cut into slices and dust with some powdered sugar or glaze with chocolate syrup.

Tastes great when served warm with vanilla ice-cream.
Great as an afternoon treat too.

Easy Pasta

There are some recipes you can always fall back on.
This recipe is one of those. Easy to make and very tasty. I usually pack this in my kids lunch box. But there have been days when I served it for dinner too.
This recipe is an adaptation of Sanjeev Kapoor's. He had written in some magazine years ago promoting some salt brand.

Ingredients:
Pasta - 2 cups

Garlic - 2 cloves , chopped fine

Onion - 1 medium, chopped fine

Capsicum - 1/2, diced

Tomato - 1 big, diced fine

Salt to taste

Chilli flakes - 1 tsp

Mixed dried herbs - 1 tsp (optional)

Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Cheese grated - 5 tbsp

opt: Sweet corn kernels / green peas / mushroom - 3 tbsp

Method:

Cook the pasta 'al dente'.

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onion and garlic.
When the onion becomes transparent add the chilli flakes.

After a minute add the capsicum, tomato and any other vegetable, if using, with the salt.

Saute and cook covered, if necessary.
Add the drained pasta and mix well.
Serve with Cheese on top.

Butter Paneer

There are many recipes for making Paneer dishes and paneer butter masala is the most famous. This recipe is NOT Paneer butter masala, but the taste is very similar to it.
You may / may not want to add the orange/ sunset yellow food color.

Ingredients:
Onion - 1 large

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

Tomato - 2, ground

Paneer - 200 gms cut into cubes

Salt

Sugar - 1 tbsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Jeera (cumin seed) powder - 1 tsp

Garam Masala - 1 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tbsp

Milk - 1/4 cup

Cashew nuts / almonds - 10 ground

Kasuri methi / dry fenugreek leaves - 1 healthy pinch

Orange / sunset yellow food color - 1 drop

Butter - 2 tbsp

Green chilli - 2 slit

Coriander leaf for garnish

Method:

Heat butter and add the onion ginger garlic paste.
Saute for about 2 minutes and add the garam masala , coriander powder and cumin powder. Mix well and fry for another 1 minute.

Add sugar , salt , chilli powder and Kasuri methi.

Mix well and add the tomato puree.

Fry till the raw smell disappears.

Now add the milk, cashew/almond paste , food color (if using) and Paneer.

If the dish has not got enough gravy add a mixture of milk and water.

Add the green chilly and coriander leaf.

Cook for a minute and it is ready to serve.

Risotto

When my husband comes home from his official trip to Italy, he brings home loads of "gifts".

Mozzarella (fresh, packed in thermocol container and carried as hand luggage!!), parmigiano reggiano (from THE factory in Parma), arborio rice and varieties of pasta unavailable in India....Not to forget the biscotti and chocolates!

Risotto is Italian rice cooked very differently from the way we Indians cook rice. We boil water and add the washed rice to it or add the right amount of measured water to the given quantity of rice and cook in pressure cooker till it becomes mashable by hand.
Italians make a stock and add ladles of stock to "unwashed" rice and wait for it to get evaporated before adding the next ladle. This rice is cooked 'al dente' or 'having bite'. That is when it is mashed between 2 fingers, the inside seems 'just cooked'. So eating risotto is clearly an acquired taste.
At home we love anything Italian and this is my version of risotto.

100gms of Arborio rice is said to be 1 serving.

This is the vacuum packed cheese from Parma.

I have served my risotto with grilled mushroom and colored bell peppers.
You can serve it with bell pepper salad.

First, we have to make a stock.

Risotto

Serves : 3 adults

Onion - 1 big chopped fine

Garlic - 4 cloves minced

Celery - 3 sticks

Olive oil - 5 tbsp

Arborio rice - 300gms

Salt

Vegetable Stock - 3 lts

Saffron - 1 pinch soaked in 2 tbsp hot water

Parmesan cheese - 1 1/2 + 1/2 cups grated

Before you start cooking, warm the stock and keep on low flame.

Heat a heavy bottomed large pan.
Add the olive oil and saute the onion, garlic and celery on a very low flame till transparent (about 10 minutes).

Now add the unwashed rice and saute on high flame.
Keep stirring the rice nonstop from here onwards.("massage" not stir!)

Once it starts to change colour/ pop a bit add the saffron liquid and salt.

This will get evaporated fast.

Now start adding ladles of the stock.One ladle at a time.

When that gets evaporated add the next ladle.

Continue doing this till the rice gets just cooked. There should be no more bite in the rice. 

Turn off flame immediately. If you cook more it will not cool to al dente.

Grate the cheese and keep aside some for garnish.

Now add the cheese and mix thoroughly.

I served this with sauteed mushrooms and capsicum

Cut mushrooms into half and different colored capsicum into thick long strips (remove seeds).

Mix well with some olive oil, salt and hand ground pepper.

 Leave for 2 minutes and stir fry / grill the capsicum.

The mushroom needs to be cooked covered in a vessel. The juices in it will cook it. Then when the mushroom wilts, cook uncovered. The water will get evaporated and the mushroom will get a nice golden color.

If you have left over Risotto, make arancini.