Mini Bundt Cakes with White Chocolate Ganache

Mini Bundt Cakes with White Chocolate Ganache

Experiments! They bring an interesting twist to life. And my experiments in the kitchen are something to write about. I make all kinds of mess all day long. And the best thing about these messes are that they lead to further experimenting.

I was making cake pops and my white chocolate covering would not turn out the way it is supposed to. So i simply ate up the cake balls and started on licking spoonful of ganache. The ganache was yummm. And why not? It had white chocolate and heavy cream!! What’s not to like!!

As I licked the spoon I surfed the web. I came across this very interesting blog hipfoodiemom.com. The very name sounded so interesting. Anyhow I came across this recipe for Mini Bundt Cakes with White Chocolate Ganache. Loved the cake! Made the cake!

Recipe source : www.hipfoodiemom.com

Ingredients

2 cups grated carrots

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup raisins

2 eggs

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup oil

2 pineapple rings (tinned ones), pureed

1 ½ cups flour

¾ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon powder

For the ganache

250 gms white chocolate, grated

1 cup heavy cream

Grease a mini bundt cake pan and dust it with four. This dusting part is important otherwise your cake will not come out easily.

Mix the grated carrots and brown sugar and keep aside for 10 minutes. 

Then add the raisins.

Beat the eggs well. Add the sugar and oil and beat. Add the pureed pineapples.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon powder. Add it to the batter. Fold gently. Now add the carrot mixture. Pour the batter into bundt pan.

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

While the cake is baking you can make the ganache. Put on a double boiler. Gently heat the cream and then add the grated white chocolate. Whip well till smooth.

When the cake is baked take it out and let it cool a little. Unmould the cake and drizzle ganache on top. Let the white molten chocolate flow down the sides.

Winter Vegetables in Coconut Milk Broth

Winter Vegetables in Coconut Milk Broth

I realized something today!
I write only when I am melancholy. I can't write when I am happy!
Due to circumstances beyond my control I will be spending this holi away from my husband. Over a span of fifteen years of a blissful married life it has become very common to not be together during anniversaries and birthdays. However those are personal celebrations and somehow I don’t feel the pinch. We celebrate when we are together. But a communal celebration such as festivals make you feel very lonely. And it is true when they say that you are loneliest in a crowd. You are never lonely alone. Contradictory I know..but that is the truth!
I don’t know whether distance makes the heart grow fonder or not but it certainly gives you perspective. It makes you realize that you are not always thankful for that most precious thing in life..time with your loved ones. 
Little late in the day (coz it is already March) for a new year resolution but I do promise to be thankful for the time I get to spend with my family. 
You might wonder what brought about this bout of melancholy!
It is raining (my absolutely favourite weather) and I am alone, I am down with flu ( damn this time of year in Delhi) and I miss my hubby!! Enough reasons!
The big dilemma was what to cook. It has to be something nutritious because I need my strength. It has to be something non fussy and light because I am still not out of the grips of the bug. And it has to be something tasty enough to make me feel like eating.
The idea for this dish came from a lime shrub in my mom’s garden. In a concrete jungle like Delhi my mom, who is an avid gardener, is struggling to maintain a strip of greenery. Apart from all the flower pots she has a banana plane, a pumpkin patch and a lime shrub. This shrub is now full of little blossoms and baby green leaves. 

I wanted to use that flavour in my food. The dish was inspired by the Thai green curry. However I have kept it very simple with easy-to-get ingredients. There were only two points on my agenda. First, add as many winter veggies as possible. And Secondly, infuse the lime flavour. 

Ingredients

2 carrots, cut into fingers
100 gm French beans, cut
1 packet mushrooms
1 bell pepper
100 gms baby corn
200 gm paneer, cubed
Handful of lime leaves
some ginger, cut into juliennes
2-3 green chillies
100 ml coconut milk
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
 1 tsp garam masala powder
 1 ½ tsp salt
Pinch of sugar
Juice of ½ lime

Cut and wash all the vegetables. 

Heat some oil. Sauté the French beans, carrots and baby corn because they take longer to cook. Remember you have to keep them crunchy. So sauté for a few minutes only. 
Add the mushrooms, bell pepper and paneer. Sauté on high flame for a minute. 
Add the cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, turmeric powder, salt and sugar, toss for a minute and then add the coconut milk, lime leaves, ginger and green chillies. 
Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for five minutes. Switch off the heat and add the lime juice. 

Carrot Dal

Carrot Dal

Bengali dal preparations are usually without onions or garlic. They are simmered in a simple tempering of spices. It does not look fancy but it can beat any good looking dal face down in the taste arena. It is generally an amalgamation of legumes and vegetables and you bet it cannot get any healthier than this.  In short this is a meal in itself.
 However in Bengali cuisine a dal is just part of an elaborate meal that starts with sheddo or boiled veggies and ends in chatni or chutney. Meal time is a rhapsody of food with all elements or tatva of food being catered to. 

Ingredients

1 cup moong dal, dhuli
1 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
A pinch of sugar
1 tbsp ghee
1 tsp ginger paste (has to be fresh)
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 carrots, peeled and cut into roundels

Heat a pan and dry roast the dal till it becomes brownish. Be careful not to burn it. Switch off the flame and add 2 cups of water and let the dal sit for 10 minutes. Pressure cook the dal along with salt and turmeric. Switch off the flame after 3 whistles.
Heat a pan and add the ghee. Add the cumin seeds. Once they start crackling add the ginger paste. Fry for a few seconds then add the carrots. Saute for a minute or two. Add the carrots along with the cumin seeds to the dal in the cooker. Add a pinch of sugar and check the salt. Close the lid and give one more whistle. Your dal is ready. 

Nasi Goreng

Nasi Goreng

Nasi Goreng is an Indonesian dish. It is a kind of fried rice which is great amalgamation of different flavours. Traditionally it is made with prawns, eggs, chicken, tamarind, chilli and many more flavoursome ingredients. It is not for nothing that it is considered the national dish of Indonesia. 
Sitting in a remote corner of the country there are so so many ingredients that I can’t lay my hands on, even something as simple as lemon grass. However that should not mean that I cant tweak the recipe a little to suit my condition. 

Ingredients

For spice paste
4 peppercorns
¼ tsp nutmeg powder
3 tbsp roasted peanuts
½ tsp sesame seeds
1 onion, chopped
1” ginger, chopped
1 tsp turmeric powder
5 garlic, chopped
2 green chilli, chopped
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp oil
1/4 lime juice
salt to taste
Grind all to a fine paste. 

For Indonesian fried rice
2 cups rice
3 onions, sliced
100 gms green beans
3 carrots, sliced fine
1 large brocoli, chopped
1 bunch spinach, chopped fine
4 garlic pods, chopped
1 tbsp tomato puree
200 gm boneless chicken, sliced
1 tbsp soya sauce


Boil the rice. Heat some oil. Deep fry 1/4 of the sliced onions till brown. 

Saute the green beans, carrots, broccoli and spinach. 

Keep aside. Heat some oil. Saute the remianing onions and garlic. Add rest of the vegetables. Add the spice paste and tomato puree. Fry for a minute or two. Add the rice. Add soya sauce and check the salt. Fry for some time on low flame.Your Nasi Goreng is ready. Top with the browned onions and some roasted peanuts.