Couple of months back I was called as a guest chef in The Lalit for the Good house keeping show anniversary. I had an amazing time as it was an experience in itself. Demonstrated a few recipes.

It was a two day affair with more guest chefs. The best part I liked about the show-simple and user friendly .Guests watched and asked a lot of doubts and about ingredients. It’s very difficult to find the same in India esp. at home style level. If you have the right contacts and know the suppliers you can get lucky once in a while but everything is available at commercial scale and in bulk quantities- something I am not a fan of. But as they say necessity is the mother of invention!! Make do with what you have and be happy with the same.

Indigo nation: Blueberry/Strawberry pudding with mascarpone cream

Blueberry Compote 50 gms
Britannia Biscuits 2-3
Butter 5 Gms
Mascarpone cheese 50 Gms
Whipping cream 100 Gms

Crush the digestive biscuits and add butter to it
Whip the cream and fold in the mascarpone to it.
Take martini glass add the digestive biscuit in the bottom
Add the blueberry compote and then some mascarpone cream
Add another layer of blueberry and mascarpone and garnish with some compote.

Chocolate Madness- a rich chocolate dessert

Britannia Chocolate Cakes or Biscuits 2 packets
Dark Chocolate 1000 Gms
Heavy Cream 500 Gms
Butter 20 Gms
Coffee Powder 2 tsp
Sugar 1 cup
Water 1 cup
Nuts walnuts (optional) 150 Gms

Over a double boiler put the chocolate
Boil the cream in a pan and pour over the chocolate folding it gently with a spatula till it forms a smooth mixture.
Now fold in the butter and let it cool.

For coffee syrup boil the water coffee and sugar in a pan and allow cooling
In a borosil pan/ serving dish arrange the chocolate cake and with a brush soak it with coffee syrup.
Put a layer of chocolate ganache on top of the cake and sprinkle some toasted nuts.
Repeat the same procedure again and in end make piping design with the ganache on top.

Ooooh lala-Baked Dish with Vegetable

Potatoes 2 medium cut into ¼ inch slices
Carrots 2 medium cut into ¼ inch thick slices
Green beans 1 cup fresh-cut
Onions 2 medium, chopped
Garlic cloves 2, minced
Olive oil or canola oil 2 tablespoons
Tomatoes (roma tomatoes) 4 medium, chopped
Cauliflower 2 cups (1 medium bunch)
Baby corn 100 Gms
Ricotta Cheese 1 tub

And any other vegetable available e.g. mushroom, aubergine, zucchini, corn, green peppers. Spinach

Salt 1 teaspoon
Thyme 1/2 teaspoon dried
Marjoram 1/4 teaspoon dried
Pepper 1/4 teaspoon
Red chilli flakes ½ teaspoon
Cheese (Britannia) 300 gms

Sauce: take a skillet and sauté onions and garlic in it. Add the tomatoes and the spices.
Arrange the vegetables with the sauce in an alternative manner with ricotta cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender and sprinkle with cheese and grill/bake for 5 mins till cheese turns golden brown.

In the picture you also see Soity who is also the person who writes about food in Good house keeping magazine and once the show was over she sent me a hand written letter which I will share with you, it just reinforced the fact that people are humble, thankful and they express!!

Am missing my brother these days, he has gone to visit sis for a month or so. Last time I made crepes he really enjoyed it, the best part about making crepes is that you can make both sweet and savour by just altering few ingredients.
So while mom tried a bite of savoury one I ate the sweet ones!! Familiar savoury fillings for crepes include: cheese, asparagus, spinach, eggs, ratatouille, mushrooms, mixed vegetables and various meat products. Since I am a vegetarian I am making spinach and corn ones.

When sweet, they can be eaten as dessert. They can be filled with various sweet toppings, often including Nutella , sugar with flavours like vanilla or orange zest, maple syrup, lemon juice, whipped cream, fruit spreads and sliced soft fruits such as pineapple, strawberries.

Long time back I did a demo at a Chef series on NDTV you can check the same here and here.

Crepes originated in France in a small area of Brittany. One of the best ways to consume crepe is: flambéed crêpes Suzette or with honey and fruits.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup flour (maida)
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt/nutmeg/cinnamon
2 tablespoons amul butter, melted

Method:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs.
2. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
3. Heat a lightly oiled/buttered frying pan over medium high heat. Pour the batter onto the pan, tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly. Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn on another pan and cook the other side. Serve hot with honey lemon juice and some fruits or jams.

Oh I am hungry again for the same as I write…while I go enjoy eating some more pancakes…you guys get your mise en place ready and try making the same.

Wrote an aritcle for Bakery Review magazine,have a read:

A (n) herb is a plant that is appreciated for essence, aroma, or other intrinsic worth. Herbs are used in cooking, baking, as linctuses, and for pious functions. Gastronomic herbs are distinguished from vegetables in that, like spices, they are used in small amounts and provide flavour rather than substance to food.

Some culinary herbs are shrubs such as rosemary, or trees such as bay laurel. I am going to talk about such herbs in both cooking and baking. Nothing tastes more delectable than freshly baked bread flavoured with the herbs from your garden. Herbs can add a lot of value to plain bread made with flour and yeast. It not adds that aroma in baking but it also adds to the mildness of the bread making it more scrumptious and pungent in taste.
When working with herbs in desserts one needs to match the potency of the herb to the might of the associated items. Being a chef I have always felt that herbs in desserts add not only beauty as garnish but also they change the dynamics of the dessert and the after taste. From records if one checks, spices were used in Egyptian times as the archaeologists discovered spices in Egyptian tombs. In addition, there never has been scarcity of spices in middle-eastern desserts recipes so there is no reason to think that these preparations are new or as we would like to say part of the fusion cuisine.

On the other hand, so far there has been diminutive use of herbs in dessert, we all discern the nuptials made in paradise which is that of chocolate and mint but rarely else is recorded. This is why the contemporary style of adding herbs to desserts makes for rather stirring recipes.
To name a few herbs:

• MINT- IT IS THE STANDARD DESSERT MATERIAL!
• Basil
• Caraway
• Chives
• Dill
• Fennel
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Thyme
• Oregano
• Lavender

Italians have been using the sinful trio of basil, garlic and oregano for ages. Every Cuisine uses the herbs in either fresh or dry form or the other in bread making. Let’s discuss some herbs not so commonly used at homes.

Lavender: The striking mauve colour flowers or shall I say pale tint of violet. They have one of the most remarkable, pleasing; relaxing fragrance .It is one of my favourite ingredients to use in desserts or food. Making food is therapeutic for me and adding lavender is like self aromatherapy. It gives modishness to dish that is prepared. When using lavender or any herb, one needs to heed not to go over the top with it as too larger amount as it would engulf the experience, which is common rule when using several herbs in desserts.

Let me share with you my 2 cents on lavender-

• Have made scones with lavender…initially I had my doubts but I tell you they for sure are tantalizing

• I use lavender syrups to soak my cakes…I pair them with different chocolates. You see I love French chocolate and French lavender is the icing on the cake. So thus both become a killer combination!

• Have candied the flowers or buds as they say and used it as decoration on my cakes…have always loved that rustic look and showcasing the ingredient you use as decoration thus keeping it simple and elegant.

• Any dessert that calls for cream you can steep the cream with lavender and get a new fusion dessert! Ice-creams can be another form to use the herb. It will not be long before cup-cakes pick up the trend in India. Am sharing with a recipe of Lavender panna cotta, something I make very regularly.

LAVENDER PANNA COTTA

1 ½ cups fresh cream
4 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon lavender flowers
25 grams gelatine
1 cup milk

• Mix cream, sugar and lavender in a small pan and bring to the boil. Let the lavender steep for about an hour.
• Meanwhile you bloom the gelatine the way that is recommended on the packaging (if you have the leaves soak them in cold water, if you have the powder mix it with the right amount of water).
• Warm up the cream again to temper the gelatine. Mix everything properly.
• Pour the mixture through a sieve in order to take out the lavender before adding the milk and any lumps. Stir well.
• Pour into the cups, glasses or ramekins you are using and put these in the fridge for about 4 hours before serving.
• Decorate with lavender flowers.

Rosemary: It has an astringent, sharp taste, which harmonizes with a wide assortment of foods. It makes a lovely addition to cakes both in batter and as garnish. As it combines well with fruits like pear, apple, lemon, you will find it in cakes especially in cakes which contain lemon peels.
Rosemary Lemon Cake

4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar,
2.5 tablespoons butter, softened
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1.5 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1.5 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
Pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks
2 cups milk

• Preheat oven to 360°.
• Whip egg whites at medium-high speed of a mixer until foamy and frothy.
• Little by little add ½ cup sugar, whipping until stiff peaks form. Set side the meringue
• Cream ½ cup sugar and butter at medium speed of a mixer until smooth creamy texture. (Approximately 5 minutes). Add in flour, rind, juice, rosemary, and salt, and cream well.
• Add egg yolks and milk, and cream together. Set Aside
• Gently fold in egg white mixture. Put in a container coated with cooking spray.
• Put the container in a baking tray add hot water to tray approximately 1 inch depth. Bake cakes at 350° for 40 minutes or until set.
• Remove cake from pan, and dust with powdered sugar.

Basil: The dazzling winner of this new trend which unites desserts and herbs is irrefutably basil. It’s become a key player in the sweet game of luscious desserts. One can add it in Crème Brule, oat crumbles, all manners of fruit puddings. It can be an astonishing partner with nearly every fruit from grapes to strawberries thus making it a most cherished one. And it is a frontrunner with chocolate. For myself I love the mishmash of chocolate and basil brownie.
Fresh basil is paramount; its infusions are made with the leaves to use in gelées and syrups which is why it is used so frequently not only in desserts but also in salad dressings.

Mango-Basil Granita
2 ½ Water
¼ cups sugar
3 mangoes finely diced
1 apple (green), skin on, diced fine
60 basil leaves
½ cup fresh pineapple/mango juice
¾ to 1 cup lemon juice

• In a medium saucepan, bring water and the sugar to a boil.
• Add the mangoes and apple, and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Add half the basil leaves. Cover, remove from heat, and allow steeping for 15 minutes.
• Place the mixture in a blender and puree.
• Add the remaining basil leaves and blend until smooth.
• Strain through a fine sieve into a stainless-steel bowl set over a bowl of ice water.
• When it’s cold, stir in the pineapple/mango and lemon juices.
• Empty mixture into plastic pan, cover up and put in freezer. Check after about 1 ½ – 2 hours. When concoction is beginning to freeze up, stir with fork so it doesn’t freeze rock-solid. Stir at regular intervals until mixture freezes into consistency of sorbet.
• Garnish with mango pieces and fresh basil leaves.

Try these recipes it is certain to wow your guests.

You know how sometimes you have craving for sweets in the middle of the night after a long day. I am having one of those cravings. I decided to make something super simple…

Ganache can be of three types: Soft, medium and hard depending on where and how it’s used. I made a medium ganache, two parts chocolate and one part heavy cream. If you are in the experimental mood try whipping this ganache after it’s cooled down…will be more light and airy. A dessert cant get simple than this.

Method: Chop the chocolate, pour boiling cream over and mix with a spatula till smooth. To make it a bit different I add orange zest to my cream to give it a tang.

And I enjoyed my mid night snack of left over fudge cake with some ganache and orange candy that I got from INA market.

Can it get better than this…hell yeah!! I added a scoop of vanilla ice cream

HAPPPPYYY …Father’s day:

Work was decently busy for father’s day…all the cakes are done and have been sent. I guess mother’s day is more popular among the Delhi people. Father’s day is celebrated generally on the third Sunday of the month of June…I am thinking of taking my dad out for dinner today…

So all of you wish your fathers and have a great day!!