Sunday, December 28, 2008

Quick and Easy All-Dairy Pudding

I call this the All Dairy pudding. Because that's exactly what this is an all dairy pudding. I don't use anything to thicken it and it has no flours as such but it's still a pudding. Did I forget to mention, it has only two ingredients?

I absolutely adore this pudding. I could eat it everyday.

What you need:

1/2 cup of Thick Yogurt
1/4 cup of Sweetened Condensed Milk

What to do:

1. In a microwave safe bowl mix the two ingredients well. Add more or less condensed milk depending on your preference.
2. Important step: Microwave at 60% for 20-30 seconds till you see a very few bubbles come out. Do Not OVERCOOK! it will make the pudding grainy and weird. You just want to set the yogurt not curdle it.
3.When moved, the pudding should reveal water below from the yogurt. But it should be firm and not granular.
4. Refrigerate for an hour till chilled.


This isn't the best picture but yes it is the best dessert:

Easy Pudding

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Super Easy Diced Salad

Its time for another Salad! I invented this last night. It was fabulous and one the easiest dressings I ever made!

I may sound idiotic posting this because you don't need to be a genius to invent this recipe but I have to tell you that it's the right combination of vegetables and fruits that make this salad a hit.


What you need: (Serves 2)

1 Cucumber, diced
1/2 an Apple, diced
1 small Carrot, diced
1 Pineapple Ring, diced
Sprigs of mint to garnish
2 tbs yogurt
1-2 tsp honey
a pinch of salt

What to do:

1. Mix yogurt with honey and salt and stir in the diced veg and fruit.
2. Enjoy!


Honey fruit salad

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Wholemeal English Muffins

I always look out for something interesting to make for breakfast because there are such limited nutritious breakfast choices. At my place It's generally eggs or cereal and it can really get monotonous for me.

These Wholemeal English Muffins (I pointed out the differences between the British name and the American name in my last post) are just so easy to make and can be eating with anything you want. I made these all the more nutritious by using a blend of soy, oat, barely and whole grain wheat flour another one of my concoctions.

What you need: (Makes 4 small sized muffins)

1 cup of wholegrain flour/ or you can experiment with different flours like I did.
5 gm fast-action dried yeast
A pinch of sugar
Salt to taste
water to bind

What to do:

1. Prepare yeast with warm water and sugar.
2. Mix flour with salt and place in a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Add the fermented yeast and knead. Add water as per requirement.
3. Keep aside for an hour in a dry place.
4. When doubled in size punch back and form four balls with them and leave aside for another 30
5. A little trick that I use: I microwave the ball shaped dough for 1 minute on 60% power instead of waiting for them to rise again. It's a smart thing to do, it saves you time and you can be certain that you wont have partially uncooked muffins.
6. Heat a griddle with some pan spray or just a hint of olive oil and cook on both sides, covered; for about 7 minutes till well done. Do not let the griddle get too hot or the muffins will burn from the outside while remaining raw from the inside.
7. Cut in the center and serve with anything you like.


So how do you like them?

Sweet: (Nutella filling)
Sweet Eng Muffin

or

Salty: (omelet filling)
Salty eng muffin

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Cola Chicken

I came across this on Spark Recipes and actually read the ingredients twice. Who would ever want to make chicken in Cola??!!

But I love experimenting, So I went for it.

The original recipe is quite basic, has just three ingredients but just reading them make me shift about my seat. I needed something more. So I modified it as I usually do and I loved the results. This is supposed to be a Southern American/Texan type dish, but honestly it tasted too Chinese-y to me and it paired brilliantly with stir fried egg-noodles.


What you need:

1 full chicken cut into curry pieces ( about 1 kg)
1 (330 ml) can of Coca Cola/ Pepsi ( I used diet)
¼ cup barbecue sauce
¼ cup of tomato ketchup
2-3 flakes of garlic, sliced
1-2 tsp chili flakes
2 tbsp cornflour
Salt and pepper as per taste

What to do:

1. Rub salt all over the chicken and let it sit for about 15-20 min
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
3. Place the chicken in a nonstick roasting tin
4. Mix all the other ingredients together and pour over the chicken
5. Bake covered with foil for 1 hour. Then bake uncovered for 20-30 min more till sauce is thick and chicken is cooked.



cola chicken