Vanilla Vanilla Cupcake!!!!

Vanilla Vanilla Cupcakes. This is my first colorful frosting on vanilla cupcakes, i had never tried food color with my frosting. This time one of my cupcake buyer requested me to make some colorful frosting for cupcakes. Actually i don't like colors for my food, but what to do you have listen to them. After thinking for a very longtime i decided to chose my 2 favorite colors(edible food colours- chemical free) and kept the design very simple, so that they look pretty and colorful too.... I think when you add color they look very pretty and I have fallen in love with these cupcake frosting, from now on i will play with more color...

 

 Ingredient's
1/2+1/6 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup butter
1/3cup sugar
1tsp vanilla essence
1tsp baking powder
1/3 cup milk
1egg.

 

 

 

 For Vanilla Butter Cream
1/4cup butter
1cup icing sugar
2tsp cream
1tsp vanilla essence
pinch of food color of your choice.

 

Baking Method
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line your cupcake tin with liners and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, vanilla and baking powder, set aside.
In a mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Add the eggs and cream together until you get a smooth mixture. Add the dry ingredients and with the speed on low mix together and slowly add the milk and just mix everything to combine. DO NOT OVERMIX! Make sure you give everything a good stir with a spatula from the bottom to incorporate any bit that wasn't mixed.
Scoop the batter into your lined cupcake tin, make sure it's only filled ¾ of the way up because they will rise. Bake for 20 minutes and let cool for about 45 minutes before frosting. 

 

To Make Butter Cream
In a mixing bowl add butter and beat till fluffy and slowly add sugar and beat for 1minute. Then add vanilla, cream and food color. mix together to combine well for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the frosting in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.

 

 

Happy Holi 2013

Wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous Holi.... Holi the festival of colors is undoubtedly the most fun filled and boisterous of Hindu festival. It's an occasion that brings in unadulterated joy and mirth, fun and play, music and dance and of course lots of bright colors!! 

Like every year this year also i made Gujia, Namak Para, Chakli and many more.. Still thinking what to cook for tomorrow... To know the Gujia recipe Click.

Masala Potato Chips (Home Made)

Masala Potato Chips. Who don't like potato chips, I think it is favorite of all. There is a potato chip store near my apartment and every time crossing it, i couldn't stop myself from thinking "how do they make it so tasty". One day i asked the person who works there, what all you add to make chips so tasty. He said you can stand here for few minutes and then see what we add... Then i was eagerly waiting there for couple of minutes to see what he adds. I kept staring him without even blinking my eyes, thinking that if i close my eyes then he will add something. But he added nothing except salt water. I was surprised by seeing that, just by adding salt water to frying potato they make chips so tasty.... I had no words to say, i just said "thank you" for telling me your secret... I had often tried making potato chips, but i use to add salt after frying, because of that only i never got that wonderful taste like chip stores.

I followed the same method what he had showed me and my chips were crispy and tasting exactly the way i get it from him... I added red chilly powder and chat masala to make it little chat patta.. This is a very simple method to make it at home and get the taste of store and healthy too... When you can make it at home why to buy from out..

Ingredient's

5 medium potato

1tbsp salt

1/2ltr oil

1/4tsp red chilly powder

1/8tsp chat masala.

Cooking Method

Peel and soak the potato in cold water for 10minutes. 

Then slice the potato in slicer and again soak them in cold water for at least 15 to 20minutes. (Soaking potato in cold water helps to remove the starch and make the chips more crispy)

In a small bowl add salt and 2tbsp water and dissolve salt completely and set aside. 

In a deep frying pan, add oil, when oil is hot, deep fry the potato, when they are half done then sprinkle few drops of salt water. Fry chips to lite golden brown. (fry them in batches)

Then take them out on a paper towel and sprinkle red chilly powder and chat masala, and mix them gently and allow them to cool completely..

Then you can store them in a air tight container for a week.

Masala Potato Chips is ready..

One Of The Best Day Of My Life.. Meeting Winner Of Masterchef Australia Kate Bracks!!!!

Last Wednesday (13March 2013) I saw an advertisement on internet about Kate Bracks visit to India for her "The Sweet life" book launch in Marriott hotel, Whitefield Bangalore. I felt so happy and sad too; sad because I had no idea how to meet her and this hotel is very close to my hubby's office, that’s where I felt he can do something. Then I told my hubby, do whatever you have do to I don't know but I want to meet her and he said I will try. Then he checked with few people and they told the booking is already filled but if you want to meet her then you can come on coming Saturday where she is going to demonstrate her favourite recipe to public and the entry is free and there will be a lot of crowd. 

Then my H called me and said that and I felt it will be impossible to meet her in person in such a huge crowd, forget it will go to Australia to meet her only. I was feeling very sad; I didn’t talk to anybody whole day.

Next day morning as usual he was reading news paper and he again saw the ad. Then slowly he came to me and said, honey I think we can go and see what exactly she will do and then think of something ok... Whenever he says like that somehow he always does it for me and I also said yes. Then in the evening he checked with hotel people and they said you can just walk in. You can say I was very happy, but somewhere in my heart I was not that much satisfied.

Next day morning I woke up early and was doing nothing and just thinking that how can I meet her? I was planning what should I wear, if I wear my best cloths and if she doesn’t meet me then?? No no, I will save my best cloths to wear on when i will meet her in personal and the I decided to go ahead with just normal cloths. Then we left from home early at 1 o'clock so that at least we can get first row seats. We reached hotel... The hotel was awesome and very peaceful, we sat for few minutes and then we filled up registration forms and I was waiting when they will send inside the grand ball room.

In the mean while we were checking out the hotel around and clicking the picture. Then we met one staff in the hotel who was looking after this event arrangement. I told Sushil just check with him, is it possible to meet her in personal. Sushil went and ask and he said I’m not sure about today but you can come and meet her in personal tomorrow where she is hosting a Sunday's Brunch and the charges is 2500+taxes, you can register after this event.

After hearing that i was so so happy. No problem if I can’t see her properly today, tomorrow I will come and sit in front of her... Keeping that in my mind I went inside the ball room where they had arrangement for this event. Now see what god has given me. By luck We got the second row seat, and the host told everybody there are lot prizes to be won and you can ask questions to Kate too, but everybody will not get a chance. Only those of few will get a chance to ask question who has post-its under their chair. Then everybody started searching... With my fast heart beat I looked under my chair but It was not there. Disappointing moment!!! But you know what, there was one post-it under my husband’s chair. I screamed O My God I got it. I was literally flying in the air. Thank You god.

After all this melodrama, Beautiful, Simple and very Energetic Kate Bracks arrives. I was just looking at her only, with my wide mouth open. Then she started talking how much she is loving India and the people. She had gone for shopping to Commercial Street, some local market and she ate Butter Chicken and tandoori rotis and she kept saying that how she can take tandoor on her flight back home. She liked one more thing the most is Pappdi chat, where she call it as Indian Nachos. After that she started her baking class, she baked her few Favourite recipes. "Chocolate Hazelnuts and Raspberry Muffins", "Chocolate Coffee Cake" and "Chocolate Terrine with Spiced Praline"

In between her baking, she was answering the questions also, few kids asked “what is her favourite food”, “favourite dish”, “what she like about Masterchef”, “what inspired her to take a part in Masterchef” etc etc..

"Then my turns comes, I asked her,

Me: What has changed in you from before Masterchef and after winning Masterchef?

Kate: Nothing as much changed in me, still I cook, make tiffens, clean home and take care of my 3 little kids. Yeah one thing has changed, I have become more confident.

The show went on and we dint realize how fast the time was passing, and at 6:30 she winded up and we all left for home. It became 7:30pm to reach home. It was worth watching and listening to her. She is the best chef I have ever met, very humble and down to earth. I was very much inspired watching on her Masterchef Australia show and because of her only I went to give the Masterchef India 3 auditions,

This was more than enough for me, god gave me this chance to meet and talk to my inspiration and stand next to her and take picture, what better I would have asked from god today.. I really need to thanks Love of My Life, he makes a everything possible for me and he is the lucky charm for me.. Thank you god and Sushil for making my dream come true... I will definitely visit Australia to meet her and spend a more time with her and I know this will happen....

Stuffed Pav Buns.. (Stuffed Dinner Rolls)

Stuffed Pav Buns!! After Getting the gloripan yeast my baking has become so easy and perfect. I'm very happy because even i can bake a perfect buns and breads. When ever i use to see people baking delicious looking bread, I use to always feel why i'm not able to bake and literally i use to cry, after seeing my bread which is not baked properly. Thanks to my hubby for supporting me and making me to try baking after every time of disaster and he tells me every time one word, "The more you try, the perfect you become" but now i'm very happy for myself :) 

Ingredient's

1+1/2 cup all purpose flour

1+1/8 tsp dry active yeast

1/8 cup luke warm water

1/2+1/8 cup milk

1+1/2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp sugar

1/4+1/8 tsp salt.

For Suffing

1/2cup boiled green peas

2 medium boiled potato (smashed)

1 medium onion, 1 green chilli (finley chopped)

1/2tsp turmeric

1/2tsp cumin

1tbsp oil

Salt to taste.

Cooking Method For Stuffing

In a deep frying pan, add oil, when oil is hot add cumin, onion green chilli, fry to golden brown.

Then add turmeric, potato, green peas and salt. Mix it well then cook for 1 to 2minutes.

Then cool it and keep it aside.

Baking Method

Warm the milk to lukewarm (not hot) and add the butter to it so that it melts in the milk. Set aside. Mix yeast and water together along with sugar. Give it a stir and set aside until frothy.

Now add the salt and milk+butter mixture to the yeast and stir well. Slowly add the flour to this mixture until slowly incorporated.

It will slightly sticky - dont add in more flour until really necessary. The stickiness will be replaced by smooth elasticity while kneading. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough very well, it will take about 8-15 minutes!!!!

Place the dough on a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with a damp towel.

Place it aside in a humid place until doubled.

Turn out this dough on a floured surface and roll it out into a square.

Using a knife cut it into 9 pieces. Place the potato stuffing in center.

Roll each piece out in your palm to form a rounded shape. Place them side by side on a square baking tin (or as the shape baking tin you want). Place them aside once again to double. Its fine if they don't look perfectly round.

They will take a beautiful shape once they double again. They will also stick to each other once doubled giving that great square shape. Brush them with milk on top.

Now bake them in a pre heated 180c oven for 20-25 min or until golden brown.

Cool them for few minutes before serving them.