Eggless Chocochip Choco Cupcakes With Chocolate Buttercream Frosting..!!!

My daughter is a fanatical chocolate lover. Be it an ice-cream, cake or dessert her mind and tastebuds always revolve around chocolate. Since her very tender age she does not even want to try any flavor other than that. Therefore, making chocolate cakes at home is one of my unvarying works. Mostly I make cakes with eggs but this time my wanderlust mind asks me to go eggless. So this time I made Choco-chip cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting without using eggs. The outcome was fantastic and wholly loved by her and her friends.

Here is how to make it:

Ingredients:

                            :For the Cup Cakes:

1. All Purpose Flour ( I used self raising flour, will be available in supermarkets): 1 Cup
2. Granulated Sugar: 1  Cup (  I used 1 1/2 Cup as it was in powdered form)
3. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: 1/3 Cup
4. Baking Powder: 1 tsp.
5. Baking Soda: 1/4 tsp.
6. Salt: Just a pinch
7. Oil: ½ Cup
8. Water: 1 Cup
9. Distilled Vinegar: 1 tbsp.
10. Vanilla Extract: 1 tsp.
11. Choco Chips: A handful.

              : For Butter Cream Chocolate Frosting: 

1. Unsweetened Chocolate : 125 gm.
2. Butter: 2/3 Cup (preferably unsalted version, and the butter should be kept at room temperature for sure)
3. Confectionary / Icing Sugar: 1 ½ Cup
4. Vanilla Essence: 1 ½ tsp.

 Process:

                                   Making Cup Cakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F or 180 degrees C for 10-15 minutes.
2. Prepare your cupcake baking tray with the cupcake liners. If you don’t have cupcake liners then grease it with little butter.
3. Take a bowl and sieve all the dry ingredients together i.e. flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, baking powder & baking soda. Mix them well.
4. Take an another bowl and add the liquid ingredients together i.e. water, oil , vanilla extract and the vinegar.
5. Then pour the liquid ingredients slowly and gradually into the dry ingredients and mix well. But remember not to over mix them.
6. Now pour the batter into the cupcake liners carefully and fill each other cupcakes liners only up to 2/3 rd.
7. Sprinkle few chocochips on the top.
8. Now bake them in the preheated oven for 20-22 minutes. Time of the baking may vary according to the power of the ovens. Once done insert a toothpick to check whether it comes out clean or not. If it comes out clean then your cakes are ready.
9. Let them cool in the baking pan for few minutes. Then remove the cupcakes from the pan and let it cool completely.

                                   Making Frosting:

1. I melted the chocolate using the double boiler method. For this you have to take a sauce pan filled with about an inch of water, bring it to boil. Put a heatproof bowl on top . Add the chopped chocolate into the top bowl. Let it melt with stirring constantly. Soon the chocolate will be melted. Now let the melted chocolate come to the room temperature and make it cool completely.
2. The melted chocolate must be cooled down. Otherwise the frosting will be very runny and you couldn’t able to frost.
3. Now take a bowl, put the room temperature butter and using a electric mixer mix it till it becomes soft and fluffy.
4. Add the icing sugar into it and mix it very well to get a smooth and creamy batter.
5. Add the vanilla extract whisk it.
6. Then add the cooled and melted chocolate and whisk it again at high speed to get a very nice soft, smooth, fluffy and creamy frosting.
7. Now put them into the piping bags and frost them on the top of the completely cooled cupcakes (don’t frost when the cupcakes are hot or warm, frosting will be runny in this way) and decorate according to your choice.

                                                                      Enjoy Your Food..!!

Janmashtami Special Coconut Laddu With Coconut Powder & Condensed Milk!!!!!

Sri Krishna is considered as the one of the most powerful human incarnations/avatars of the Lord Vishnu. He was born around 5,200 years ago in Mathura. The sole objective of Sri Krishna's birth was to free the Earth from the evilness of demons. He played an important role in Mahabharata and propagated the theory of bhakti and good karma which are narrated deeply in the Bhagwat Geeta.

Sri Krishna was born in a prison in the custody of Kansha. But his father Vasudev handed his new born child to Nanda Raaj and Yashoda in absolutely a miraculous way to save the new born from Kansha. Therefore Krishna  was brought up in Vrindavan and later he killed his uncle, Kansha.

 Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna is celebrated with great devotion and enthusiasm in India in the month of July or August. According to the Hindu calendar this religious festival is celebrated on the Ashtami of Krishna Paksh or the 8th day of the dark fortnight in the month of Bhadon.

The actual celebration of Janmashtami takes place during the midnight as Sri Krishna is believed to be borned on a dark, stormy and windy night to end the rule and violence of his uncle, Kansa. All over India this day is celebrated with devotional songs and dances, pujas, arti, blowing of the Conch and rocking the cradle of baby Sri Krishna.

The Janmashtami celebration of Mathura and Vrindavan, the places where Sri Krishna had spent his life, are very special. On this day temples and homes are wonderfully decorated and illuminated. Night long prayers are offered and religious mantras are sung in the temples.

Being an Indian I also celebrate Krishna’s birthday or Janmashtami or Gokulashtami  in my own way, as I have very little knowledge about the puja rituals. I usually prepare some sweet dishes, decorate my lord Krishna with lots of flower, light up diya & candles, blow conch shell and then pray for my family in front of my God. 

This year, I prepared a very easy sweet for my Krishna, “Coconut Laddu With Coconut Powder and Condensed Milk”. This is a very quick and easy recipe which could be prepared almost in no time.

Let’s see how to make it.

Ingredients:

• Coconut Powder/Desiccated Coconut: 300 gm
• Condensed Milk: A whole can (400gm)
• Cardamom Powder: ½ tsp.
• Ghee: To grease the hands
• Chopped Cashews: A handful
• Pistachio: A handful (chopped finely)
•  

Process:

• Heat a nonstick pan .
• Add the condensed milk. Stir it continuously in low flame so that it can't stick to the bottom of the pan.
• Now add the coconut powder. Mix it thoroughly. It will very easily mix with the milk and soon start to release the pan. Add the cardamom powder and cashews and mix very well. After 2 -3 minutes, when all the ingredients will be mixed with each other turn off the flame.
• Now grease your hands with little ghee and make round balls or laddus using your palm from the hot coconut mixture. Don’t allow it to cool unless making laddus will be difficult.
• Coconut laddus are ready now. Garnish them with chopped pistachios and serve.

                                                                      Enjoy Your Food..!!

Nolen Gurer Payesh...Rice Kheer With Date Palm Jaggery...!!!!

Poush Sankranti.....Makar Sankranti.... Poush Parbon.....!!the word is umbilically related to Bong people. Bengal is An Abode of Festival... An Abode of Enthusiasm ...AN Abode of Rich Tradition,Spirit and Culture.Colloquially it is said that Bengali Calendar of 12 months celebrate 13 festivals. Even the time when the first grain of the year is stocked up is celebrated in a gorgeous and honourable way .This is known as "Nabanno"( nabo= new, anno= rice) in Bengal. This is the actual significance of "Poush Sankranti" or the last day of the bengali month Poush.According to Hindu Philosophy this particular day is the beginning of the Sun's Northward Journey ,from Tropic of Capricorn to the Tropic of Cancer. This is also called "Uttarayan". According to science the journey starts on 22 nd Dec. Poush Parbon or Makar Sankranti is not only celebrated in Bengal but also in almost all the regions of India. Actually the date of Makar Sankranti  is regarded as the Official beginning of Spring in India.

Nolen Gur ,Khejur Gur or Date Palm Jaggery is a traditional  jaggery from Bengal and can only be found in the Indian State of West Bengal and in Bangladesh. It is only extracted from the trees during winter months. In summer the heat at night makes the sap rancid and alcoholic.In one of my posts (Khejur Gurer Narom Paker Sondesh ), I already mentioned how this jaggery is produced in different parts of Bengal . In winter season this is widely available in every nook and corner of the state. So, very obviously this jaggery takes an important role in this celebration. Various traditional sweets basically made with rice, flour, milk and date palm jaggery or sugar are prepared in each and every house. These very traditional and famous sweets are known as "Pithe/Pitha" in bengali.

I was born and brought up in that part of Bengal where I got the opportunity to witness this celebration from my childhood.Though all those beautiful memories are archived in pages of history now but still I can remember those days very well. On that day, early morning after taking bath Maa made beautiful "Alpona" in front of our "thakur ghor" with rice paste and water. That was a holiday in our school and as my father was in Government Service it was his holiday too. So, after puja, we all  used to enjoy our lunch with "Khichuri"(Khichdi/Hotch Potch). In the afternoon Maa prepared various "pithe" specially, dudh puli and patishapta as these were our most favourite . Me and my brother eagerly waited for the dinner . Yes, dinner that day would comprise only  pithe.

But this time I couldn’t manage to make anything special at my home, except this rice kheer or payesh with date palm jaggery. So without wasting time lets come to the point now.Here comes the recipe of preparing Rice Kheer with Date Palm Jaggery .




Ingredients:

• Rice(Gobindobhog, Ambemohar rice, a very short grain aromatic rice. We the Bengali people exclusively use this rice for making payesh,but in absence any aromatic basmati rice is ok to use too) : ¼ Cup(soaked in water for half an hour).
• Date Jaggery: 4-5 tbsp.
• Cardamom Powder: ¼ tsp.
• Milk: 1 lt.
• Mawa/Khoya(Grated):2 -3tbsp.
• Cashewnuts: A handful
• Raisins: A few(I didn’t use though)

Process: 

• Take a heavy bottomed vessel,specially the non stick one, so that the milk cant stick to the bottom. Boil the milk till it is reduced to its half of the amount. Once the milk becomes thick add the rice and cook until it is done. Add the cashewnuts. 
• Now it’s time for adding  the jaggery. Add and mix well . Sprinkle the cardamom power and add the grated mawa into it. Mix thoroughly . Cook for another 4-5 minutes and turn off the flame. 
• Your payesh is ready to serve. Serve it hot or chilled.

                                                                 Enjoy Your Food..!!

Bengali Payesh /Rice Kheer/Rice Pudding ...!!!!

Payesh or rice kheer is an indispensable dish in every Hindu feasts or celebrations. It is also prepared in temples and in every special occasion. In our Bengali culture birthdays are considered to be remained deficient without this. Usually during birthdays or any special occasion we prepare it and first offer it to our God and then we all cherish it as God’s Prasad or sacrament.
Rice kheer is usually prepared with milk, rice, ghee, sugar/jaggery, and khoya. Some also add a little bit of heavy cream for a richer taste. It is often garnished using almonds, cashews, raisins and pistachios. There is one more popular version of North Indian kheer which is prepared during festivals and havan in Varanasi which is prepared by using just milk, rice, ghee, sugar, cardamom, dry fruits and kesar. 
Today I am going to share the recipe of the typical Bengali version of rice kheer or payesh which my mom prepared on my birthday after eight long years. After my marriage, this was the first the first time I had spent my birthday with my parents.  So, you can easily conjecture how exceptional it was for me.

Anyway, let’s come to point and discus the recipe. to makeBengali version of rice kheer or payesh you need to follow the subsequent steps.

Ingredients:

• Gobindobhog Rice ( Ambemohar Rice, a special type of flavourful short grain rice which is ideal for Bengali rice kheer preparation) : ¾ th Cup.
• Full Cream Milk: 1 ½  lt.
• Condensed Milk: ½  Can 
• Sugar /Jaggery: As per your taste, usually if you use condensed milk, you need to be very careful while adding extra sugar as the condensed milk is extremely sweet. Ma didn’t use.
• Cardamom Powder: 1 sp.
• Ghee ( Indian Clarified Butter) : 1 ½  tsp.
• Cashew nuts: Handful.
• Saffron Starnd : A few.
• Bay Leaves:2-3 nos.

 Process:

• Soak the rice in 2 cups of water for 15-20 minutes.  Drain the water properly then.
• Take a heavy bottomed vessel. Heat half of the ghee and slightly fry the cashew nuts first. Take them out and keep separately.
• In the same vessel add the rice first and stir fry it very slightly on low flame for 2-3 minutes. Take the rice out of it and keep separately.
• Now heat the rest of the ghee and add the milk. Let it boil on a very low flame until it become little thick. I want to mention here that for boiling milk I always like to use non-stick vessel  else you need to be very careful so that the milk can’t be burnt.
• Now add the bay leaves and the rice into it. Increase the temperature little and cook until the rice is boiled properly. But be careful so that rice can’t be overcooked. 
• Now add the condensed milk and let it boil again. Cook till your desired consistency. Then add the cashew nuts, cardamom powders and mix well. Check the sweetness. As I like lightly sweetened payesh Ma didn’t add more sugar into it. But if you want you may add little more sugar or jiggery into it.
• Turn off the flame. Your rice kheer is ready now. Sprinkle the saffron strands on it. Serve hot or chilled garnishing with more dry fruits of your choice and fresh rose petals.
• Enjoy the blissful dessert.

                                                                         






                                                            Enjoy Your Food...!!!

Baked Rasogolla (Baked Puffed Cheese Balls) ... Bhapa Rasogolla...!! A Low Calorie Version of the Famous Bengali Dessert...!!!

The other day , I was hopping to few of my favorite blogs which I follow on a regular basis. On "My Saffron's Kitchen's blog", a recipe attracted me very much and I immediately wanted to give that a try.But I hold myself for sometime and thought of preparing that for my weekend guests. Then after a week or so I opened her blog again and made Baked Rasogolla for my evening guests. It's nevertheless to write that I got so much appreciation from my guests,for this dessert that I had started feel like I was lifted up to Cloud Nine... Lol...
Though I made few changes of her recipe while making these ,still I am really really thankful to Arundhuti ( Owner of My Saffron Kitchen) for helping me to learn such wonderful low calorie version of the famous Bengali sweet.


Here is the process for you all....



Ingredients:

• Rasogolla: 10 pc.
• Paneer( Cottage Cheese) :  200 gm Crumbled
• Condensed Milk : 2 tbsp.
• Sugar/ Jaggery / or any Sugar Substitute:1/4 th to 1/2 Cup but be very careful if you are using sugar substitute as the intensity of sweetness is very high in those. In that case only few drops of zero calorie liquid  sweetener or just few pinches are enough I think.
• Whole Milk: 1 Cup
• Saffron : A Few strands only. 
• Cardamom Powder:1/4 th tsp.

Process:

• At first squeeze the rasogolla very carefully to remove or drain out the sweet syrup from it and soak them in a large bowl with full of water for atleast 15 minutes. Make sure that all the rasogollas are just covered with the water.
• Now repeat the same process again. I mean after 15 minutes squeeze the water again and soak them in some fresh water for 15 minutes to 30 minutes.It will help to remove the last amount of sugar syrup remained inside the rasogolla.
• Now preheat your oven at 180 -200 degree centigrade.
• Put the crumble paneer, whole milk, saffron, cardamom powder,sugar( jaggery or sweetener) and the condensed milk in a blender and mix thoroughly until it becomes very smooth.
• Now take a oven proof bowl and make a nice layer of the paneer and milk mixture and arrange your rasogolla on it carefully and nicely.Spread the remaining paneer mixture on top very smoothly and cover it with an aluminium foil.
• Bake it for 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven or until a nice red brown color comes .
• Serve hot or chilled . You may garnish it with chopped dry fruits like cashews or pistachios.
• Trust me, it tastes heavenly.

                                                Enjoy Your Food..!!

Kolkata Special Mishti Doi ...!!!...Famous Sweet Curd Of Bengal..!!!.... Sweet Yogurt Kolkata Special...!!!!

                              দই চাই গো, দই চাই, দই চাই গো?

                                        শ্যামলী আমার গাই,

                                         তুলনা তাহার নাই।
                                                 কঙ্কনানদীর ধারে
                                    ভোরবেলা নিয়ে যাই তারে--

The above lines are taken from the famous book, Gitabitaan, Rabindranath Tagore .It is said if anybody requires doi (sweet yogurt) which he has made from the milk of his dark/black colored cow................

Mishti Doi or Mitha Dahi or Sweet Curd is synonymous with Bengal in East India. Bengal is tremendously famous for their sweet preparation .Among all the sweets . the sweet curd or sweet yogurt or mishti doi is one of the most familiar desserts. Not only in Bengal this sweet yogurt is widely available in Odisha and in Bangladesh also.

It can be made very easily at home and it tastes great. Today I am going to share two different and easy recipes of making sweet yogurt at home. 

The first one I followed this time.

Here it goes:

   

              Quick Process of making Mishti Doi
( Actually It is called Bhapa Doi, Baked Mishti Doi)

Ingredients:

1. Condensed Milk: 1 Can
2. Whole or Full Fat Milk : 1 Can Or Evaporated Milk: 1 Can
3. Unsweetened Yogurt : 1 Can ( 400 gm, I used Danone natural yogurt)
4. Cardamom Powder:1/2 tsp.
5. Brown Sugar/caramelized Sugar : 1 tbsp. 

Process:

1. Boil the full fat milk  in a heavy bottomed vessel  until it becomes thick and concentrated or till it  becomes 1/2 of its original volume. Stir frequently to prevent the milk from scorching.Wait until the milk becomes lukewarm.But  if you have evaporated milk, you don't need to do nothing.Use it as it is.
2. Take a oven safe bowl and mix the concentrated milk, condensed milk and beaten unsweetened yogurt and the cardamom powder.The mixture should be smooth and there should be no lump.
3. Caramelize the sugar in a different pan and pour it to  the mix. Otherwise you may simply sprinkle the brown sugar on it.
4. Preheat your oven to the lowest temperature (110-120 degree C for 5 minutes) and place the bowl inside it.Bake it at the same temperature for 15-20 minutes or until it sets.The timing may vary as the capacity of different oven is different.
5. Once it is done take it out of the oven. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios on the top and refrigerate it . Serve when it becomes chilled. 

             Making Sweet Yogurt Without Baking:      

Ingredients:

1. Full Fat Milk: 1 lit.
2. Yogurt:2/3 tbsp.
3. Sugar:250 gm.

Process:

1. Boil the full fat milk  in a heavy bottomed vessel  until it becomes thick and concentrated or till it  becomes 1/2 of its original volume.Stir frequently to prevent the milk from scorching.Wait until the milk becomes lukewarm.
2. Put the sugar in a different pan and heat it over a low temperature and allow it melt .Once it becomes brown in color or caramelized , add the concentrated milk into the sugar and mix well.
3. When the milk and the sugar are mix with each other add the yogurt into it and mix thoroughly to get a lump free mixture.
4. Now pour the mixture in different container and keep it in warm and dark place for mishti doi to set. The best taste of mishti doi is obtained if it is kept in earthenware pot.
5. Once the mishti doi has set and firm refrigerate it for few hours to make it chill and then serve. 

                                                  Enjoy Your Food...!