Wednesday 30 January 2013

Chicken Tikka Sandwiches



Sandwiched can be eaten at any time of the day, they only be yummy : )

There are surely thousands of ways and recipes to make the chicken sandwich, I for myself find this very tasty and I use Coleslaw in it so it is so fresh and juicy and delicious : )
I usually always cut the carrots and cabbage and freeze them, but   this time i bought the fine julienne cut carrots and cabbage bag, they were so fresh and organic and I was so happy to find them because I just needed these two Veggies.
 

I used the light whole meal bread and brown bread with sunflower seeds for my sandwiches, it gives a far more delicious taste, many like white bread, so it’s your choice, but brown bread is honestly yummier  : )
You'll  find the recipe for the coleslaw here in the blog
 So this is how I made these Sandwiches:
 
 
400 gram chicken breast fillet
2-3 tbs Soya sauce
¼ tsp pomegranate powder (Anar dana powder)
¼ tsp salt ( I took less because the soya sauce is also salty)
½ tsp chaat masala
½  tsp red chili flakes
¼  tsp
½ lemon’s juice 
Mayonnaise
Remolade
(a form of mayo with herbs mixed in it)
Iceberg salad leaves


*wash and dry and cut in fine stripes
*marinate with all the above given spices and let it rest overnight
*next day fry this on a high heat; keep stirring gently so they don’t break in pieces
*don’t prick or press, they will stay very juicy
*now cut the edges of the bread, spread mayo and remolade on each side
*place 1tbs spoon coleslaw on one side of the bread
*spread the chicken stripes all over and cover with some coleslaw again, lay one leaf of salad
*cover with the second slice and prick a tooth pick to hold firm
I made them half an hour ahead and then covered them with a very light wet kitchen towel and covered in a nylon bag
They were very soft and fresh at the time of serving.
 
 
Enjoy making them, they are cold sandwiches and taste really good.
You can surely increase the spices to your choice, but they should not be hot or else you won’t feel the delicious combination of coleslaw and chicken!






Tuesday 29 January 2013

Chocolate Cupcakes with Philadelphia cream cheese




I had this sweet little Angel Helena coming to visit us and as I heard that she loves Chocolate cakes, I made these here for her and so that they are not extreme chocoy I added some fresh cream cheese in it and believe me it was really divine!
These here have a taste of  fudge chocolate, yet one can feel the creamy yummy taste while biting in it : ) I used the normal bread spread salty cheese so the mix of sweet and very very light salty cream is really delicious, at least I found it very tasty and they were all gone faster than one could think : )
 
I searched this recipe from the net, where she added yoghurt to the muffins so I thought instead of yoghurt I can use fresh cream or something similar, so I thought of Philadelphia, was really a good thought ; ) So here is what I did, I took 1 ½ measurement more than it was given and added and subtracted according to my feeling.
 
I did not take 2 tsp of Soda and I used a bit more butter than it was given, which made the cupcakes soft and moist. They became a bit firm after 3-4 hours, obviously butter gets harder in the cold : )
I used my Cadbury bar for the topping by melting it in a double broiler. I made the buttermilk at home by using 1 ½  tbs of vinegar and I cup of milk, it is just perfect!
 
So let’s start to bake:
200gram plain flour
80 gram soft butter
150 ml butter milk
2 eggs
100gram sugar
2 tbs cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon powder
2 tsp vanilla sugar
80 gram Philadelphia cream cheese
2-3 tbs of Choco chips or chunks
( I added chunks of Cadbury)
For the coating
300gram Milk Chocolate
White Choco flakes for deco



*mix the cream cheese with the vanilla sugar and keep aside
*make the buttermilk, pour 1tbs of vinegar in a cup, add 1 cup milk
Let it stay 4-5 minutes, it is ready
*mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder together in a bowl
* beat the butter and sugar till creamy
*add eggs and beat again till all creamy and fluffy
*now add the dry ingredients (flour and co) and beat on high speed
*pour in the butter milk and if you feel it is a bit thicker, add drops of milk to beat it into a creamy batter
* just mix in the choco chunks with slight hands
*place the pastry paper cups in the pastry baking tray
 


*drop 1 tbs  of choco batter, let set, drop 1 tbs of Philadelphia, let spread then drop 1tbs of choco again on the top
*fill all cups this way and bake in a preheated oven 150°c for around 20-25 minutes
*you will see the cheese melt form sides, no worries, it will set after it is cold
*place another pastry paper cup under the baked cupcakes to make it stable
In the mean time I had melted the Choco couverture on a low heat; if the heat is high it will start making lumps so be careful.
*Now just spread around 1 tbs of it on each cupcake and sprinkle any topping you like, I wanted the combination of brown and white so I used white Chocó flakes : )
 
 
I made18 cupcakes with this recipe
Viola! Yummy Chocoy Cupcakes are ready J
Enjoy!

Monday 28 January 2013

Spinach Tortellini in Cheese Sauce

 
I lately had Broccoli Tortellini with Fish and Vegetables with my friend and since then I was craving to eat it again but was too lazy to make it. Though it is not too hard to make but it does take some time to prepare it.
So to have it done fast I took the frozen spinach for filling : ) you can surely take any Veg...
etable like broccoli, paprika, cauliflower or even minced meat.
I used julienne cut carrots and cabbage which I always have in my freezer because I prepare the packs and freeze them for my pan fried Veg : )
We can also make the Roux for it if we want a bit less Calorie bomb : ) but I prefer the original and classic way, the yummy cheese sauce….when, then in full bloom : )
 
It is best to prepare all beforehand then all is done quite fast.

So this is what I did:

Tortellini:
100 gram plain flour
1 egg
2 tbs oil

-Make soft dough out of these 3 ingredients
-Sprinkle drops wise water to make dough soft if needed.
-Cover and let it rest at least an hour
-Roll out the dough thin and flat
-Cut out round circles with help of a cutter or any sharp round thing like a pastry ring.
-I just made less for the first try so I made like 9 tortellinies, they are very filling so it’s okay for the start for 2 people.
The circle was 8cm
 
 
 
 For the filling:
50 gram spinach
(i took frozen cubes)
3-4 tbs Ricotta cheese
Salt to taste
Black pepper from the mill
Dash of mixed dry herbs
(oregano, rosemary, thyme)

-Thaw the spinach first and then press and drain if any water, and then mix in salt and Black pepper in the cheese and add in the spinach and mix well.
This is not hot at all so we have to stick to these spices : ) Of course you can add any other spice to taste, no restrictions…

Vegetable:
You can use any according to taste, but the usual ones are carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, peas and beans

I took:
1 cup together Julienne cut carrots, cabbage
Handful of peas and beans

For the Sauce:
200 gram fresh cheese spread(Exquisa)
100 gram grated Cheese ( Gouda)
150ml milk
2-3 tbs butter
Salt and pepper to taste
½ tsp mild curry powder
 
-Now start the process
-fill in the spinach, take care don't fill too much,leave space to overlap them, and then press the edges well so they stick firm, then turn them back ways and press hard so they stick together
-as my friend says it so sweetly, it is like we have overlapped our hands behind our back: D
-make all 9 and cool them a bit so the flour gets hard and it seals well

-boil half a pot of water with some salt and oil and put the Tortellini’s in it
-just let them boil 3-4 times not longer or else they will start to open
-take them out and place in a bowl
-On the other hand prepare the cheese sauce:
-Heat butter in a non stick pan
-add all the Vegetable and fry till it is half done, I don’t fry much as it tastes super when it is crunchy
Add the curry powder-salt and pepper
-Now pour the milk
-Mix the cream cheese smooth with a fork and add into it
-Keep stirring so it does not burn
-Add the curry powder ,mix well
-now drop in the Tortellini’s and keep stirring slightly , but not so hard that they break : )
-cook on low heat around10-13 minutes
-drop the grated cheese along so it melts and makes a nice thick creamy structure.

There you have a very yummy Lunch ready : )