Ice cream cake

When it comes to desert then ice-cream is one such thing which everyone like to add in their plate. Though the idea of #icecreamcake is not new but i must say that its a very interesting way to serve a desert than just scooping it out as such and pouring some chocolate sauce over it. How can you realise that this recipe can be so simple and interesting unless you give it a try. The best part about this desert is that, it does not require any cooking and you may store it in your freezer for days ahead of your party. This recipe requires only few ingredients and best part is that there is no cooking required.

Ice-cream cake

So the ingredients which i used in making this are:-

1. Vanilla ice-cream
2. Cocoa powder
3. Chocolate chips
4. Some roasted nuts
5. Chocolate cake for base
6. Chocolate slab to garnish (optional)    
7. Silicon mould or cake ring to set the cake

First of all crumble the chocolate cake, i have baked a cake ahead and some was left over so have used that one other wise you can use any chocolate cake available in the market. But if you are using a ready made cake then you need to mix little butter in it as it is usually dry and won't set properly.

Place a cling film at the bottom of your mould so that taking out your cake becomes easier. Cling film should be cut in a manner so that it come out of the mould sides. You can see the picture below and get an idea how to do it.

Place the crumbled chocolate cake at the bottom by pressing it with hands so that it covers the base well.

Then take vanilla ice-cream and mix ccocoa powder, nuts and chocolate chips in it. give it a good mix so that all ingredients well combine. If you have chocolate ice-cream then you can use it directly but i wanted to get a second flavour with what i was having at home so i tried this idea and it worked well.

Fill the mould with this chocolate mixture ice-cream and set it for some time in your freezer till it gets harden.

Then comes the last layer of plain vanilla ice-cream. Pour the vanilla flavour over the chocolate ice-cream and finally set it in the freezer to set. Cover the top with cling film to avoid any ice getting inside.

So whenever you want to serve it take it out from the freezer by pulling the cling film and grate some chocolate over it to give it a nice look and you are ready to serve this beautiful desert.

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Besan ki barfi

If you have an sweet tooth or longing to make something quick for this #Ganeshchaturthi then you are not far anymore. Though i don't celebrate this festival but i always like to cook something special and get a feeling of festivity through my kitchen. Anyways for those who are seriously planning to cook and want an easy recipe, here's for you. I have never realised that making sweet can be so simple until i tried this one myself. It requires few ingredients and only 10-15 minutes of cooking and 5 minutes of cooling time and you are ready to take a bite. It made around 20 pieces for me. The no of pieces may vary depending on the size you cut and also on the size of tray you choose to spread the mixture, if the size of tray is large then you may get thin pieces or vice-versa.

Besan Barfi

All you need is:-

1. Besan/ Bengal gram powder 1 cup
2. Sugar 2 cups
3. Ghee 5 tbsp
4. Water 1 cup
5. Dry fruits chopped 1/2 cup(coconut, almonds, cashew, sesame seeds)

First of all grease a large plate/tray with ghee or oil and keep it aside. This tray will be used for setting the barfi.
Take ghee in a pan or kadhai melt it and add besan in it. Fry the mixture till besan turns a little golden brown in colour and you can smell the nice aroma. While frying you may add the chopped dry fruits so that they also get little roasted. Turns off the stove and keep this besan mixture aside. In another pan take the sugar, add one cup of water to it and stir it continuously till all the sugar is melted and it reaches one thread consistency.
Once the sugar syrup has reached one thread consistency then turn off the stove and add the besan mixture which was kept and stir in continuously till all the ingredients are mixed well.
Then finally spread the mixture on a greased tray and let it set. When the mixture is set cut it into square or diamond shapes whatever you like and enjoy it!

Besan ki barfi

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Dum Aloo (punjabi style), potato curry

After a long time almost a month i am posting a recipe. Its not that i stopped cooking but i was busy reading a novel kite runner and other cobwebs have kept me occupied. Though this recipe was waiting in my archive long back and it was only me who was reluctant to post it. Now i am back with a peace of mind and full of energy. For now lets look at this one.
#Dumaloo is a very popular dish in northern region of India. Till date i have tasted its two versions one is kashmiri style and the other is punjabi style. The kashmiri version is very rich and aromatic loaded with spices while the other one is tangy with tomato taste. This curry is meant for people who love potatoes, as the name itself suggests dum aloo. Also this dish is hot on every menu card of hotel as well as it is popular in parties and other functions. I have come up with a very simple technique to cook this dish in no time. The ingredients are quite simple which are commonly found in every bodies kitchen. Since my husband is a potato lover so i make this one specially for him.

Now look at the ingredients used:-            

Dum Aloo

1. Baby potatoes 6-8 nos  
2. Tomato 4 nos
3. Onion 1 large finely chopped
4. Ginger-garlic paste 1 tbsp
5. Curd/dahi 1 cup
6. Cumin seeds/jeera 1 tsp
7. Turmeric powder 1 tsp
8. Garam masala 1/2 tsp
9. Red chilli powder 1/2 tsp
10. Asafoetida/hing a pinch
11. Green chilli 1 slit
12. Salt to taste
13. 2 Tbsp oil
14. Fresh coriander leafs for garnish

First of all boil the baby potatoes, if you don't get them then you can use large ones and cut them into smaller proportions. Then shallow fry them as it will give them a crispy texture. The original recipe of dum aloo involves deep frying but since i want to cut down on calories so i did shallow frying. You may also skip frying but the crispy taste will be missing in the curry.

Then take oil in a pan add jeera, followed by onion, ginger-garlic paste, asafoetida, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and green chilli. Saute the mixture till it turns little brown in colour.

Puree the tomato and add it in the pan. keep stirring till it start leaving the sides of pan and it will turn brown in colour.

Then add curd in the pan. Beat the curd before adding it so that there are no lumps in it. Keep stirring it till all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Add garam masala and salt to taste then leave the potatoes in the curry and cover with a lid for 5 minutes so that they absorb the masala.

Finally garnish with coriander leafs and serve hot with roti, paratha, naan or steamed rice.

Dum Aloo

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Mango muffins( vegan recipe)

Mango is one of my favourite fruit and off course people who are reading this blog must be having interest in this fruit thats why they are tempted to go through this post. The good thing about this recipe is that they are vegan #mangomuffins and there are no artificial flavour or colours used in it. This mango season i wanted to try as many recipes with mango as possible, so i found one and gave it a try and believe me it came out very well. The muffins had a nice dome on top and rich in natural flavour of mango. One must keep in mind that they must select good quality mangoes as it will be responsible for the overall flavour as no artificial flavour is being used.
The original recipe calls for only refined flour (maida) but to make it nutritious and rich in fibres i have used wheat flour in majority. So it is good for health and low in calories as butter is being skipped and instead canola oil is used.

Mango Muffins

So lets look at the ingredients used are:-

Mango Muffins

1. Mango pulp 1 1/2 cup
2. Wheat flour 1 cup
3. Refined flour/ maida 1/2 cup
4. Sugar granulated 2/3 cup
5. Canola oil 1/3 cup
6. Baking powder 2 tsp
7. Baking soda1/2 tsp
8. Salt 1/2 tsp
9. Cardamom powder 1 tsp

Step by step process to make mango muffins:-

Pre heat the oven at 180'C and line your muffin tray with paper cups. I have used a mini muffin pan which yielded 24 muffins and if you are using a regular size pan then it will yield 12 muffins.

First of all sieve the dry ingredients that is wheat flour, refined flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom powder and salt.

Then in other large bowl mix the wet ingredients that is mango pulp, canola oil and start mixing the granulated sugar in small quantity. mixing can be done with help of electric beater or a hand whisk.

Then start adding the dry ingredients in small batches and keep mixing. Also scrape the sides of bowl while mixing the ingredients to make sure everything is mixed properly.

Once everything is mixed well then pour the batter in the paper cup lined tray. Make sure that each cup is equally filled and up to 3/4th of its volume. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean.

Enjoy these muffins during breakfast or even during snacks. You won't feel guilty having them as they are loaded with all the good ingredients possible.

Mango Muffin

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Banana and dates cookie cups

Its been a really long time that i have posted anything. Life has been quite hectic due to some or the other reason. So finally last weekend i ended up the monotonous schedule of not baking and posting anything new. I was flipping the pages of a cookie book to try out something interesting and to utilise the ingredients which are handy in my kitchen. I shortlisted one but i actually ended up giving it my own twist and all together a new name. Maybe after reading this post you guys can suggest me any new name for this recipe, your comments and updates are the source of inspiration; and suggestions are always welcomed. When cookie word comes in what rolls in your mind? for me it is some thing which i can grab and eat to give instant energy. Well it works good for me as an instant reliever of hunger. That is the reason why i wish to keep my cookie jar filled with nice healthy cookies.

Banana and dates cookie cups

Well the recipe which i am sharing requires following ingredients:-

1. Ripe banana 3 nos
2. Pitted dates 150gm
3. Jumbo oats 80 gm
4. Cornflakes 80 gm
5. Sunflower oil 80 ml
6. Vanilla extract 1 tsp

First of all mash the banana in a large bowl. Then add dates, oats, cornflakes, sunflower oil and vanilla extract. Give it a good mix and leave the mixture to stand for 15-20 minutes to firm up a little and for the oats and cornflakes to absorb some of the liquid.

Then line your cupcake tray with the cupcake liners and using a spoon drop equal quantity of mixture into the moulds.

Preheat the oven at 180'C or gas mark 4 and bake it for 15-20 mins. After it is down let it cool completely on a wire rack. Store in a airtight box and you are ready to grab a handful of healthy cookie every time you feel like munching. Or it works great as a healthy breakfast idea with a glass of milk.

So enjoy these crunchy cookies till i am back with another mouth watering recipe.
Healthy eating!  

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Jeera lassi

In such a hot summer when your throat is sticking like a glue being applied, then nothing works better than a glass of buttermilk which is traditionally called as lassi in local language of north India. I was carving for something cool and wanted to try out something new, but since i ran out of everything to use my creativity, i thought better stick to the old and the gold rule. Then i went ahead and made this jeera lassi in a couple of minutes. The ingredients as well as the process is so simple that anyone can try it out anytime. Though i mostly like sweet version of a lassi but this one for a change was good.

Jeera lassi

So lets get started with the list of ingredients:-

1. Curd/yogurt 1 cup
2. Salt to taste
3. Roasted jeera/cumin seeds 1 tsp
4. Red chilli flakes to garnish
5. Ice cubes 2-3

Dry roast the cumin seeds/ jeera on a skillet till they turn black in colour and start leaving aroma. You may roast them in a large batch to be stored in a air tight container for future use.

Then take rest of the ingredients and put in a mixer and run the mixer for few seconds till all the things get well incorporated. If you want it to be light then mix additional water. Pour it in a glass and garnish with some chilli flakes and jeera seeds. Or else If you want that a butter should float on the top then run the mixer for longer duration and avoid mixing water as it will keep it thick this way.

So enjoy it chilled the way you like along with your lunch or as an appetiser before lunch.

Jeera lassi

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Minty magic,(mint lemonade)

When it comes to summer coolers i would recommend this one as a natural cooler. I myself tried this for the first time today and could not wait to post it. The freshness of mint taste and the tangy taste of lemon with sugar in it is hard to resist. As a took the sip and gulped it down through my throat every cell of mine could taste its freshness. It provide the instant cooling effect and that aah... feeling comes automatically. The bright green colour of the drink was too attractive with no artificial colouring required. So if you feel tempted by this green coloured drink then just go grab some mint leaves and lemon from a near by store and rest all the things you will find handy at your home. The recipe is for two you may double the quantity if you plan to make out a large batch for friends and all.

Minty magic drink

Ingredients used are:-

1. Lemons 2 nos
2. Sugar 2 tbsp
3. Salt 1 tsp
4. Water 2 glasses
5. Ice cubes 5-6 
6. Mint leafs (about a fistful)

Method:-

Squeeze the lemon, add sugar, salt and water along with the mint leaves in a mixer bowl and mix all the ingredients well. Then take two glasses and put the ice cubes in the  glasses. Then strain the mixture through a strainer into the glasses. Put some fresh mint leaves on the top to garnish and enjoy this summer cooler.
It just take few minutes to make it and you may serve this drink along with some snacks or chips do compliment this drink a lot. Hope you enjoyed this quick summer cooler and before leaving i would like to draw some benefits of mint so at least people who don't like it much at least for the sake of health benefits can include it in their diet.

Benefit of mint:-

• Mint is a great appetiser and palate cleanser. 
• It soothes stomach in cases of indigestion or inflammation, remember people taking podin hara tablets when their stomach is upset.
• Also the strong aroma of mint is effective in relieving from nausea feeling.
• It is effective in clearing up nose, throat, bronchi so over time it helps in curing respiratory diseases.
• If you are feeling depressed, sluggish, anxious or exhausted then simply mint or its products can provide an immediate relief.  

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