Choco chip soft Cookies

The Cookies which we usually have will be chewy but this a very soft and dissolves when you have your first bite. My preference is baking and having  these cookies at the same day as day by day it looses its soft texture. 

Ingredients
70 grams Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 Egg
1 cup Self raising flour
125 grams semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Method

• Preheat oven to 200°c for 10 minutes.
• Cream the white Sugar, brown Sugar, vanilla extract and Butter together with the help of hand mixer or electric mixer.
• Beat the egg well and add little by little into the butter mixture.
• Then slowly add the flour and beat well.
• Finally add the chocolate chips and mix well.
• Drop by large spoonfuls onto the greased pan.
• Bake for about 10 mins in the preheated oven or until edges are nicely browned.

Note

• When you place the cookie mixture onto the greased pan, leave some gap in between each one so that when they spread out they won't connect.
• If you feel the mixture is bit wet, don't worry this won't spoil the texture of the cookie.

Thai Chicken Balls

This is a great easy yummy recipe. If you have excess chicken or minced chicken, here is a very easy and tasty starter for your family. This doesn't require much time. It is just you have to mix and place in the oven. You may have a doubt that the chicken balls will turn tight and rough but that is not the case. You get a tasty and soft chicken balls.

Ingredients
250 grams minced Chicken
30 ml Oyster sauce
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon self raising flour
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
70 ml coconut milk
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon oil
Pinch of salt

Method

• Preheat oven to 200°C.
• Grease the large muffin pan or spread a baking sheet on a flat tray.
• Drain the excess water from the minced chicken.
• Mix all the above ingredients(not in any order).
• Place rounded tablespoon of mixture into prepared pans or just take a small amount of mixture and place it in the pan.
• Bake for about 15-20 mins or until cooked.
• Minced Chicken balls is ready to be served with sweet chilly sauce or any sauce of your wish.

Note

• If you are unable to find minced chicken at your place, you can just grind the chicken flesh in a food processor and prepare.
• If you feel you are not getting a proper ball shape with the spoon then you can do it with your hand (My preferred way is by preparing without the spoon).
• If you feel the mixture is bit watery add 1/2 tablespoon of self raising flour.
• You will get 25-30 small chicken balls from this amount of ingredients.

Tapioca with Coconut cream

This is one of the favourite Thai dessert for all of us. Whenever we head into a Thai restaurant, we won't miss to have this dessert. 

Most of the recipes in Thai cuisine will definitely have coconut milk or cream and also for their dessert they will add coconut cream for most of it.

With this same recipe they also prepare this dessert with sweet potato, mango etc,.

Ingredients

500 grams Tapioca 

400 grams Sugar

200 ml Coconut cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 Pandan leaves

2.5 litres Water

2 teaspoon white Sesame seeds.

Method

• Peel the skin and cut the Tapioca roots into big chunks and rinse them in water.
• Boil one litre of water in a vessel and add the Tapioca.
• Allow it to cook till the Tapioca roots starts to be transparent.
• Remove the tapioca from the water and keep it aside.
• In a Vessel combine sugar and remaining 1.5 litres of water with the Pandan leaves.
• Heat until the syrup starts to boil.
• Add in the Tapioca roots and let them cook in the sugar syrup till soft and transparent.
• Meanwhile in a separate saucepan mix the Coconut cream and salt together and heat gently. DO NOT BOIL.
• When the Tapioca is cooked soft in the sugar syrup remove from the heat and place on a serving dish.
• Cut the chunks into smaller sizes.
• Drizzle the coconut cream over the tapioca roots and top with white sesame seeds(pan fried) and Serve.

Note

• Coconut cream will be available in all Super markets, if you are not able to get the coconut cream you can also use coconut milk but definitely you can't get the creamy texture for the drizzle.
• Sesame seeds is optional, because it just gives a crunchiness to the dessert. 

Cauliflower fry

This is yet another vegetarian starter. Very common Indian starter and also doesn't requires any dip. Just fry it and present it to your guest. If you are in a hurry, you can prepare this very easily in a short span of time.

Ingredients
1 whole medium size Cauliflower
100 grams All purpose flour
80 grams Corn starch
1 teaspoon Ginger paste
1 teaspoon Garlic paste
1 teaspoon Yogurt
1-2 tablespoon chilly powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon Black pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon fennel powder
1 tablespoon Coriander leaves chopped
10-12 Curry leaves
Lime for garnish
Salt
Oil for frying

Method

• Cut the whole cauliflower into small florets and blanch them in hot water for couple of mins.
• In a bowl add all the dry ingredients and mix well.
• Then add the ginger, garlic paste and also yogurt and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well.
• This will make a thick batter.
• Pour this batter on the cauliflower, make sure al the cauliflower pieces is coated with the batter.
• In a heavy bottom pan, heat oil and deep fry them.
• Separately fry the curry leaves.
• Cauliflower fry is ready to be served with fried curry leaves and slightly squeeze lime on it.

Note

• Make sure the coriander leaves are finely chopped otherwise it will get a burt taste when you deep fry them.
• Add the chilly powder according to taste.
• When you fry the curry leaves, make sure it is dry otherwise you end up in oil getting splatter everywhere.

Rasmalai

Hi my dear friends, Wish you all a wonderful new year. Let's begin this year with a wonderful and all most everyone's favourite dessert  RASMALAI:):). Yes, this is definitely a very rich dessert where most of us won't try this at home and opt to buy in some sweet shops.
Trust me guys, this is not as difficult as you think. If you just follow certain techniques certainly you will end up surprising your loved ones with this awesome dessert Rasmalai.

Ingredients
1 litre Full cream Milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon water

For Sugar syrup
1.2 litres water
1 cup Sugar

For flavoured Milk
1 litre Full cream milk
3/4 cup sugar
6-8 strands of Saffron
1/2 teaspoon Cardamom powder
8-10 Blanched Almonds
10 Pistachios

Method

• Mix the lemon juice with 1 tablespoon of water and keep it aside.
• Boil the full cream milk. When it is boiled perfectly add the lemon juice mixture to the milk and stir.
• Switch off the flame immediately after you pour the lemon juice.
• Once the milk fat is separated from the whey, drain the whey using a strainer line with a cheese cloth (pic 1) and pour some cold water to it so that the heat get reduced. 

• Let it cool for 5 mins and then gather the cloth, squeeze out the water and tie a knot and then hang it for 45 mins (pic 2) to drain the water, if any.
• (I wasn't comfortable in tying knot so tried to hang with the clip :p)
• To check if enough water is out of the paneer, take a little piece of it on your palm and rub with your fingers, you should be able to make a smooth ball.
• Once the paneer is drained, place on a dry surface and knead for 5 mins, now you will be able to make a smooth soft dough.
• If the Paneer is too dry, add a few drops of water.
• Divide the paneer into small equal balls, flatten it slightly and keep it aside.
• Boil the water and sugar to make the sugar syrup. 
• When the Sugar water comes to rolling boil add all the paneer discs slowly.
• Close the lid of the pan and let it boil for 15 mins.
• After 15 mins you can see the rasagullas would have doubled the size, switch off the flame and let it cool for sometime.
• Meanwhile you can prepare the flavoured milk.
• Boil 1 litre full cream milk (preferably in non-stick pan) until it get reduces to 1/2 litre.
• Add Sugar and cardamom powder and mix well. Switch off the flame when the sugar got dissolved completely.
• Now add the chopped Almonds, Pistachios and saffron soaked in 1/2 teaspoon of hot milk, mix well.
• Take the rasagullas from the sugar syrup and squeeze gently the excess syrup. (Try to press the rasagulla in between your palms gently).
• Drop it into the creamy flavoured milk and let it cool.
• Refrigerate it and serve chilled Rasmalai with some chopped almond and pistachios garnish.

Note

• Please do not use UHT milk for this dessert, this will totally ruin your dessert.
• After pouring lemon juice you will notice the fat getting separated, at that point of time switch off the flame immediately.
• Don't boil your sugar syrup in low flame, it should be in medium high flame all time.
• Keep stirring the milk when you are boiling the milk to get reduced, because this process takes some time. Let the flame be in low so that this avoids the milk to get burned at bottom of your vessel.
• If you do not have a cheese cloth to strain the fat, try to strain with any other white  thin cloth.