"Raspberry/Blackberry Soft Cheese Cake"

 

I love making different sorts of cheese cakes, with and without cheese : ) the result is always the same, they get gobbled up in no time!
This here is a very famous and old German Cheese cake, I got the recipe from my elderly Neighbors, she made it with gelatin and I don’t like that :/ I made this without, and it is simply super duper!
You just have to be patient and let it chill overnight, then you get the exact form and structure of it and it is extreme creamy and yummy : )

 

I baked this specially to give myself a treat :) I have another cooking page which i started in June this year. I never thought i would get such a great feedback and my members will increase daily:) 

I love my work, i just simply love sharing all my recipes with all and thanks to my God that i really have a great number of such sweet members which all made it possible that i hit and cross the 5,000 number!!! So i gave my dear members and myself this yummy treat A "virtual" treat :) 

 My beautiful daughter had gifted me this lovely rose which i preserved by drying it and she decorated our table :)

 

This is what you need to do:

200 gram simple butter biscuits (Merry Biscuits)
120 gram soft butter
450 gram cream Fraiche
200gram sour cream
2 eggs
150 gram sugar
150 gram mix of Rasp/Black berries
Zest of one organic lemon!

-First make the base of the cake and let it set for at least an hour
-crush the biscuits and mix in the soft butter
-spread it evenly in a baking form, I took a casserole
-press with palms to make it smooth and keep in fridge to set

 

-as the base is hard, then prepare the cream to fill in
-beat the butter and sugar till creamy
-all the egg and beat again till creamier
-all both the creams and beat on a medium speed till all thick and smooth
-grate in the zest of the lemon and just fold in
-pour this onto the firm base and drop the berries all over, some will sink some will stay on the top
-bake in a preheated oven on 150°C for a good 80-90 minutes!
-Yes this is the required time as we bake on a low heat, to avoid the cream from burning and turning brown!
-as the top seems fluffy and light creamy it’s ready, take it out and let it cool down at least an hour
-then cover and keep in fridge so it sets very well
-if you cut out any pieces before it is really cold, it will not give you good a good shape, so wait till it is really chilled overnight : )

 

Good Luck and Happy baking!!!

Roses are Red and the grass is Green :)

The eyes need to see the beauty of nature :)

Though man made; but a lovely piece of art for the eyes!

 

 

The yummiset warm spicy ** Six Mixed Daal **

 

 

There is no introduction for Daal it is simply “Daal jo nibhay Naal” Long before I never understood as my dear Dad used to say this, I just liked the rhythm of his sentence : ) Today I know what he meant….

No matter how lush your daily meals are, but Daal is Daal and nothing compares with its uniqueness!!

 

 I know everyone cooks Daal so often that it’s nothing new here, it just has to be cooked perfectly, which I also learnt eventually : ) My childhood Aunt used to say…. “A girl is considered a good cook when she can make a perfect Daal and knows how to boil an egg “
Strange I thought, but if I really think of it now it is so true… two simple things but need the right way to cook : )

If water is swimming above the Daal it’s a no go and if eggs break up after the first boil…. hmmm well too bad : )

I make mixed daals quite often, this time I tried to mix 6 together, I had bought the pigeon lentil and wanted to cook it but not alone, so I mixed it up with the rest.
Very easy peasy recipe, just the ratio matters for a good consistency, as this here Is thick and delicious with Naan.

¾ cup Daal channa (Bengal gram)
¼ cup Daal mash (White/Urdh/split gram)
¾ cup Daal masoor dhulli ( red split lentil)
¼ cuDaal moong ( Yellow split lentil)
¼ cup Daal moong chilkay waali
(Urdh/skinned green gram)
3 tbs Pigeon pea lentil

 

*clean and wash all together thoroughly, and soak overnight in a bowl full of water

We add lots of Fresh Ginger to it which builds’ the yummy taste.
Spices:
3 inch piece of fresh ginger (julienne cut around 2tbs!)
1 ¼ tsp salt or to taste
¾ tsp red chili powder
1 ½ tsp coriander powder
¼ tsp black pepper powder
½ tsp turmeric (haldi)
½ tsp of mixed cloves and black cardamom powder

-fill a broad pot with 5-6 glasses of water
-add all the spices in it with ginger and let it boil once to twice
-now wash the soaked lentils very well as it will be foamy
-add in the boiling water to cook
-keep the heat medium but reduce to low after it comes to boil again
-the lentils will take time to cook and the water will keep drying
-keep a check is you feel water evaporating fast, add some more
-the Bengal lentil gets flatter and thicker and may stick to the bottom so keep a check and stir once or twice
-after nearly an hour you will see all daals mixed up, so now just use your electrical mixer once so that the daals break up and mix well like a soup, but DON’T beat too much we keep the channa daal visible in it!
Let it cook again, you will see water on the surface so that has to be cooked slowly till it dries up!
-add another spoon of grated ginger in it at this point and let cook.
-it will take around 2 hours to cook coz the lower the heat the tastier it will be..
Once you see only Daal, and no liquid on it, it is done

*prepare the Baghaar*

1 large onion
6-8 whole red chilies
2 tsp white cumin seeds
½ tsp black peppercorn
¼ tsp cloves
½ cup desi ghee (clarified butter)
1 inch of fresh ginger in stripes to fry in the end
It may seem that there is too much ghee but as we mix it into the daal tis not much because we are just using it in the bagaahrr na so it’s perfectly ok!

*heat the ghee,add the red chilies and let them puff up
*now add the onion and fry till light brown
*add the cloves/peppercorn and fry a bit more
*don’t let the onion burn; as soon as it is gold add the cumin seeds
*once they turn light brown and give a nice fried smell, remove and pour onto the daal pot and cover immediately so al the aroma stays in the pot!
*now heart just 1tsb of ghee and fry the ginger stripes in it till nice light brown and pour that on the daal

The delicious Daal is ready to serve with naan or khushka, your choice. We had it with spoons later, it’s simply divine!!!

I don’t add any greenery in this Daal, no green chilies and no fresh coriander or tomatoes….. These all are a NO GO in Daal : )
You just taste the gingery touch!!!

 

 

                                                         This is how the lentils look:
 

  Happy cooking!! 

 

Hot Minced Meat Polau

 This is a very simple Polau yet very rich and heavy!
It is cooked in tomatoes and does'nt have the typical all spices, i did use some thoiug :) It is a complete heavy meal so i don't make any dip or raita or curry with it : )
Just serve with a nice Salad and chutney,that tastes very good!!! 

Here is what i did:
600gram minced meat
2-3 onion (Fine sliced)
4-5 green chilies (fine chopped)
2 tomatoes (fine cubes)
100ml oil
2 inch piece of fresh ginger (fine julienne cut)
2-3pods of garlic
1 tsp salt
½ red chili flakes
½ tsp of cinnamon and cloves powder
4-6 red whole chilies
½ tsp black pepper corn
½ tsp gram masala
¾ tsp cumin powder
Fresh coriander for garnishing
3 hard boiled eggs

 

 

 3 cups Basmati Rice
(Wash and soak in luke warm water for 15-20 minutes)
2 ½ tsp salt or to taste more or less!!
3 glass water
 
 -heat the oil in a broad vessel
-add the red whole chilies and fry till light brown
-add the black pepper and fry slightly
-now add the half onion and fry till gold brown
-now add half the ginger strips and fry and add the mince in it
-stir fry carefully till it changes color; sprinkle the garlic to kill its raw smell
-now add the spices salt, red chili flakes, cloves, and cinnamon and cumin powder
-the mince will get cooked very fast; don’t add any water at this stage
-as the water dries up, add the tomato cubes and the chopped green chili
-keep stirring on and off with an open lid, we have to dry up all the moisture!
-sprinkle the garam masala once it’s dry and done!
-now add the 3 glasses of water for rice and bring to a boil
-taste the salt, it should be quite salty when you check, but that is okay because it has to absorb in the rice!
-Drain the rice and add to the pot, cook it on high heat, you will see rice fluffing and water forming bubbles
-at this stage turn to the lowest heat, place a piece of Alum. Foil and set on Dumm.
-In around 15 minutes it ready to serve
-slice the boiled eggs and decorate on sides as you dish out!
-garnish with chopped coriander

-I made harri chutney (green Chutney)with it, as it is a complete meal with spices; we need nothing else with it!!
You will feel the hotness of garam masalay (cloves, cinnamon, garam masala.. if you want you can take less quantity, but in this polau we don’t add too muc red chilies to make it hot .
Enjoy !!

My Cheezzzy Creamy Pasta Primavera!

Pasta is the best Medicine to brighten up your day or night :)

 

Did you know that only one plate of Pasta can change your world : ) It did change mines : )
Always a delight for the eyes and tummy, it’s the easiest and yummiest way to prepare this hearty dish and is ready in no time with the best results!
We can make pasta Primavera with different Vegetables and pasta of your choice, usually we use the bow pasta, I wanted these here : )

 

 

So this is what I did:
1 chicken breast fillet (around250 gram)
1 cup green beans (thin ones)
1 cup carrots (fine julienne cut)
½ cup cabbage (fine julienne cut)
3-4 tbs green peas
4-5 tbs butter
150 gram grated cheese (I took G ouda)
Few basil leaves

Spices all to taste:
Salt
Red crushed chili flakes
Mixed dry herbs
(Rosemary, thyme, oregano, kräuter der province)
A mix of dry olives and chives

 

 

-Boil the pasta as directed, drain and set aside
-Prick the fillet, rub in salt and black pepper and sprinkle lemon juice
-Shallow fry the fillet without cutting it till nice golden from all sides
-Now you cut in flat thick pieces
-Now fry them in the same oil, from all sides, add the beans, and carrots and stir
-Don’t overcook, just till ¾ so they stay bite firm, as that tastes very good
-Now add the cabbage and peas and mix all, stir with open lid
-Sprinkle all spices and keep mixing on a low heat
-In the end add the basil leaves and sprinkle grated cheese all over
-Let it melt, it’s ready to dish out
-First lay a bed of pasta and top with this delicious Primavera
-I sprinkled parmesan cheese on the top and few drops of Tabasco
Enjoy your yummy plate : )

 

 

 

*My Gulaaboos and Ras-Malai * :)

These two sweet dishes are my family's most fav ones, so i can make them any time, and many times :) A dear friend loves my Ras-Malai, so as she was here i thought why not make both of them :)

This time i cooked the milk for Ras-Malai around more than one and half hour, i added a whole tin of condense milk, not the thick sweet one but the tea/coffee milk,so you can see the pale color, i tell you it's so heavenly delicious, it gives you the taste of some Khoya milk. The Ras-Malais puffed up so well and yet so soft.... simply divine and a must try :)

Both these recipes are to be found right here in my blog.

http://www.raniazohaib.com/2012/07/gulaab-jamun.html

 http://www.raniazohaib.com/2012/02/ras-malaaiispongy-soft.html

 

I sprinkled some of my very precious saffron i got as a gift from my friend from Iran, the pure original one,but sadly as i poured the milk into the bowl all vanished in the milk, but well hope you are getting the aroma through the pictures :D   

I made extra small tiny balls of Gulab jamun

so that we can have them without any guilty

conscience , and that worked,we both sat

and had ONLY 3 each :D

My Tangy Spicy Chutney

 

 

Our Harri Chutney is the yummiest and tastiest answer to any ketchup, sauce or chili sauce in this world, well I believe so : )
It’s a must in our daily meals, i usually make a large amount and freeze it in small portions so i just have to thaw it when needed. Today as my hubby bought fresh coriander i couldn’t resist making it fresh immediately and had it with my Polau wow what a divine taste : )
It is simple and quick to make, of course there are...

many many ways to make it and many variations with different things, the main ingredients are but really few to have THE chutney taste
Mom used to make this on her “Sil-Batta”  ( Mortar and Pestle) that was the best, I don’t have any here but it gives more or less the same taste : )
Of course you can omit the tomato and just add water to make it runny ,but be careful  just add in drops so it does not turn too thin :)

 

I made it this way:
½ bunch fresh peppermint leaves
1 bunch coriander
4-5 green chilies
3 pods fresh garlic
Juice of 1 fresh lemon
¼ tsp crushed black pepper
¼ tsp salt or to taste
1 large tomato

 

*chop all and blend long till very fine
*I don’t add salt in the chutney directly as it changes the color to a darker one
*ad d salt each time you take out to serve so it stays lovely green
*I add no red chili in this one because green chilies are the main taste maker in here

 

 *keep this in a glass jar or bottle, in the fridge, it stays really fresh till 4-5 days
*if you make more, just freeze it , it’s very practical to just thaw and mix in yoghurt to eat as is.

 

 

 

**Another version I make is, I add onion, tomatoes, red chilie flakes, roasted cumin powder, a piece of ginger and some vinegar with lots of green chilies and only coriander, That is too hot and is served with all sort of rice dishes