Sticky toffee date cake

Sticky toffee cake(yields 2 cakes)

Ingredients
1 pound dates, pitted and chopped
2 teaspoons baking soda
8 ounces butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/4 tablespoons baking powder
Ingredients

For the sauce

• 100ml/3½fl oz double cream
• 40g/1½oz butter
• 40g/1½oz dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsp black treacle
• 1 tbsp golden syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two round ring pans
Place the dates in large saucepan with 3 1/2 cups cold water. Bring to boil, stirring a little to break up the dates. Then leave to simmer for 1 minute before removing from the heat. Stir in the baking soda (which will cause the mixture to bubble up).

Cream the butter and sugar together in a food mixer until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, occasionally scraping down mixing bowl. Add the vanilla extract and then the flour and salt and mix briefly to give a lumpy dough.

Next, add the warm date mixture in two batches. Scrape down the sides of bowl in between mixing. The dough will now be quite watery but don't worry! Finally add the baking powder (this will bubble up also).

Pour the batter evenly into the two pans  Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes for cake pans . Test if they are cooked with a small knife or toothpick, it should come out clean when cakes are done.

Meanwhile, to make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a  medium saucepan. Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer gently for a minute or two until thickened and well blended.

When the cakes are done, poke little holes all over with chopsticks, this will enable the sauce to be absorbed more easily. Pour the caramel sauce over cakes while both are still warm and leave to soak for about 10 minutes. Turn the cakes out upside-down onto serving plates (the bottom is the most sticky bit!).

Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream



Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sticky-toffee-date-cake-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

low fat celery soup

Low fat celery soup

today some fresh celery was sent to me from the farm and i made a very low fat celery soup.....Low In Calories
Not all versions of celery soup are low in calories. Opt for one made with broth rather than one made with creamor butter. This will dramatically reduce the number of calories you take in when you eat celery soup. One large stalk of celery has only 10 calories, making it a good addition to soup when you are trying to lose weight. Combine celery with other vegetables to create a filling bowl of soup that is low in calories, but high in nutrients
i made a very simple low fat celery soup but it was delicious!!here goes the recipe..
teaspoons butter
2 cups diced celery
1onion chopped
1 tsp garlic chopped
1 .5 tsp ginger chopped
4 cups chicken stock with cubes or chicken powder
salt
1/2 cup milk
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1
In a large saucepan,heat butter til bubbly,add garlic,ginger onion and stir fry 2 minutes add chopped celery. cook for 5 minutes. add stock
2
Reduce heat and cover,and let simmer for 10 minutes till celery is tender.
3
add salt and pepper. add milk. taste for salt
4
Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
5
Puree the mixture then return to pan,rewarm stirring til well combined.

steamed fish with black bean sauce

Hi!! i had some beautiful chilean sea bass kept and decided to make a nice dietry and tasty fish for dinner. This recipe is adapted from nobu s book and its just perfect for this fish. The flavors are very delicate making you enjoy the quality of this fantastic fish. The black bean sauce i used was by lee kum kee.....and according to me its the best black bean sauce in the market. here goes the recipe!!
Steamed fish with black bean sauce
ingredients:
4 thick fish fillets (about 1.25" thick)
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons Chinese salted black bean paste, mixed with a little sake
8 tablespoons sake (Japanese rice alcohol)
thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled
1 bunch fresh chives, cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
directions:
1. Season the fillets on both sides with salt and pepper. Spread the tops with black bean paste. Place fish into heatproof dish, add sake and steam for 10 minutes over high heat in a steamer.

2. While fish is steaming, use a vegetable peeler to slice the ginger into very thin slices, then use knife to julienne into thin slivers.

3. When fish is finished, remove the dish from the steamer and pour the accumulated cooking liquid onto a large deep plate for serving. Top the ginger slivers and the chives over the fish.

4. In a small frying pan, heat up the olive oil and sesame oil until just before it begins to smoke, then pour it over the fish. The chives and ginger should sizzle.

5. Transfer the fish to the plates containing the reserved steaming liquid and serve.

teekha murgh

TEEKHA MURGH(very nice and full of flavor) tried and tested from ndtv  cooks  http://cooks.ndtv.com/recipe/show/teekha-murg-176536

INGREDIENTS
75 ml mustard oil

1 tsp onion seeds (kalonjee)

1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)

2 tbsp garlic, chopped

200g onion, chopped

150g tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp ginger, chopped

2-3 green chillies

2 tbsp curry leaves

1 kg chicken leg cubes, boneless

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp red chilli powder

1 ts black pepper, crushed

1 tsp cumin powder, roasted

Salt to taste

1 pinch black salt

20g fresh coriander

10g mint

METHOD:
Heat mustard oil. Add onion seeds and fennel seeds. Once they release flavor, add chopped garlic. Saute for a while.

Add the chopped onion, tomato, ginger and green chillies. Stir fry until the onion turns brownish.

Meanwhile, fry curry leaves and crush them.

Add the boneless chicken cubes, tomato paste and stir for a while.

Add the other dry spices and mix well.

Cook on a low flame, with a lid on top for about 10 minutes.

Add the crushed curry leaves and mix well.

Serve the dish garnished with fresh coriander and mint.

http://cooks.ndtv.com/recipe/show/teekha-murg-176536  

Chicken Kerala

My lunch today....simple and delicious chicken kerala..........full of flavor and spices...just the way i like it!!!! here goes the recipe again as well as the pic......i doubled the marinade and made about 1/2 kg..although the green chillies and red chilli stayed the same
Kerala chicken roast

Ingredients :
Chicken : 1 kg
For marination :
Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
Chilly powder: 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder: 1/4 tsp
Vinegar/Lemon juice: 1 tsp
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Garlic cloves : 5 no.
Green chillies - 3 to 5 no.
Salt: to taste

For roasting :
Onion: 3 medium
Tomato - 1 large,(blanch it, remove skin & make puree)
Green chilly: 2, slit
Curry leaves - 3 springs
Garam masala powder- 1/4 tsp
Pepper powder: 1/4 tsp
Juice of 1 lemon
Oil

Method :
Clean and cut the chicken into medium sized pieces. Make a paste of all the ingredients under marination. Marinate the chicken pieces with this paste and keep aside for an hour.
Cut onions into very thin slices & fry in hot oil. Drain them & keep aside. Fry the chicken pieces in the same oil until almost done. Keep the pan covered so that the chicken does not get browned , but is cooked inside.
Drain them and keep aside.
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in another pan (You can use the same oil in which we fried the chicken pieces. This will enhance the flavour). Add slit green chillies and curry leaves. Saute for 1 minute.
Add the tomato paste to this and saute for 1 minute. Now add the prepared chicken & roast until it is dry. Make sure that all the chicken pieces are well coated with the tomato paste. Sprinkle garam masala & pepper powder & mix well. Add lemon juice and mix well. Check for salt. Add a little if needed.
Now add the fried onions and mix well. Tasty Kerala Chicken roast is ready.
The taste makers in this dish are the fried onions and lemon juice. So, be generous when adding them.

Satay Gai(chicken skewers with peanut sauce)

Satay gai (chicken satay with peanut sauce)
this is a really nice recipe if you are in the mood of quick satays.......the marinade gets the satays to taste vv soft.........10 gm v thinly sliced galangal
.15 gm soft palm sugar ...these are simple pan fried satays so you dont really require a bbq grill............here goes the recipe.........
ingredients
.2 HPD tablespoon coconut milk
.2 pods garlic
.1 tablespoon chopped coriander root.
.4 thinly sliced long chicken breast or thigh........pls slice these thin
.1 small piece lemon grass thinly sliced
.1 small shallot chopped
.15 gm soft palm sugar
.1 dessert spoon curry powder.10 fish sauce
.pinch salt and pepper
.1/2 tsp oyster sauce.
1/2 T soy sauce
.1 dessert spoon sesame oil
method
..in a mortar pound coriander root,pinch salt and pepper and garlic and pound
.in a bowl put palm sugar,fish sauce,curry pwdr,sesame oil,oyster sauce soy,coconut milk,mix well and add chicken and marinate 1/2 hour.
chop the shallot and lemon grass and galangal vv fine and add to marinade.
.in a non stick pan put v little oil. skewer chicken strips and add to pan. brown both sides and serve with peanut sauce
Peanut sauce recipe
INGREDIENTS
1)3 large tablespoons roasted peanuts smashed in the mortar with pestle
2) 1 cup coconut milk
3)3/4 tablespoon palm sugar(available in asian supermarkets)
4)1 tablespoon red curry paste
5)Salt to taste
Method
1)Heat coconut milk till it bubbles
2)Add smashed peanuts and let it boil
3)Add palm sugar
4)Add curry paste and mix
5)Season with salt. taste
6)Sauce will thicken as it cools
7)serve with chicken satays

Hot Rock Garlic Prawns

Hot Rock Garlic Prawns............a very very simple and tasty italian prawn recipe...GARLICY N LEMONY...........enjoy!!
ingredients
.8 white prawns deshelled n deveined
7 pods garlic chopped
2 T melted butter
2.5 T white wine
.1 big lemon juice
,extra virgin olive oil
.salt and blk pepper
..5 stems corainder chopped vv fine
method
.chop garlic
.Heat a non stick pan
.Add the melted butter and olive oil
.add garlic and saute
.when brown,add prawns.add salt and pepper
..cook. add white wine and cook.add coriander.
.finally add lemon juice and serve with bread

Bengali mustard fish

Bengali mustard fish
this is a very light and low fat fish dish......its quite pungent and you must love mustard , but you can tone it down with yogurt
ingredients
sea bass fillets 2 washed in lemon juice and marinated with sarson tel,salt and haldi
.1 Tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
.1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
.1 green chilli
.1/4 CUP DAHI
. 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
.1 teaspoon cumin powder
.1/4 teaspoon coriander powder
.salt
.3/4th tablespoon lemon juice
Method,Make a paste of mustard seeds,chilli,ginger garlic paste,yoghurt,salt,coriander powder and lemon juiceTaste for salt and add more lemon juice if required
.Poke a few holes in the fish with a fork and marinate one hour
. wrap fish in foil which is dabbed with mustard oil or use a banana leaf and fold to make a parcel
. Steam till cooked
.serve parcels with lemon wedges
. enjoy

Simple Tuna Quesidillas
Quesadillas are v simple to prepare and taste great with a variety of interesting fillings.i made these yesterday with tuna that i had left over from a pizza feast!!!
ingredients
.2 soft flour tortillas(available at modern bazaar by golden crust)
.60 g canned tuna in water drained

.40 g cheddar cheese grated (kraft is super)
.2 spring onion peeled and sliced thin
.few green chillies thinly sliced
.a little olive oil
equipment
.spoon
.chopping board
.frying pan
.spatula
.2 dinner plates
.small sharp knife
.fork
.grater
.2 mixing bowls
METHOD
.Lay out on of the tortillas on a board or clean and dry surface
.leave 2 cm border around edge and spoon the tuna on top
.sprinkle cheddar cheese over the tuna and add the spring onions and green chilli
.place second tortilla on top and press down firmly.
.Brush olive oil on a large frying pan.cook quesadilla over med heat.press down with spatula to make sure cheese melts
.Now you need to turn the tortilla over. Carefully slide it onto a larger plate.Put another plate on top and gently turn the plates over.
.Carefully put the quesadilla back in pan and cook the other side 2 mins.Remove cooked quesadilla from pan and cut into wedges.A pizza cutter works great!!!
.Serve with sour cream,salsa and guacamole...........or just sour cream
.enjoy and eat with passion

Fish fillets crusted with parsley and served with warm parsley sauce

hi..i made this delicious and very light fish for dinner last week..ive been tied up so wasnt able to post the recipe but better late than never...here it is!!!!!! i used basa but for all the people who have basa fish 
issues.......feel free to use any other fillet(white).....

..
Walnut Crusted Fish

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 fillets of fish (what works best is basa, halibut, sea bass or black cod)

3/4 cup walnuts chopped

3/4 cup breadcrumbs*(i avoided this but im sure it would be tastier)

2 tbsp olive oil
3 tablespoon parsly leaves chopped


1 1/2 tbsp whole grain dijon mustard

1/4 cup grated parmesan

*Just as a side note here, how I make breadcrumbs is super easy and it avoids all the additives you find in the ones on the shelves in the grocery store. I set my oven at 200 and place 2 slices of whatever bread I have going into the food processor and chop it until it is as finely chopped as it’s going to get. Then I lay it out on a cookie sheet and bake for about 45 minutes. Then put the breadcrumbs back in the food processor and chop until they are a fine consistency.


method

1)Preheat your oven to 180 deg c. Add the breadcrumbs and the walnuts to a food processor and chop until the walnuts are finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the olive oil, dijon and parmesan.

2)Make sure your fish is sliced into 4 pieces.
3)take the fillets n lighty sear in butter both sides.
4)Grease a baking dish and place the four pieces in it With your hands press the crust onto the top of 

each fish piece. Be generous and press the crust firmly.



5)Bake for approximately 15 minutes until a fork inserted in comes out very easily and crust us slightly golden.

i served the fish with a lovely parsley basil sauce

recipe-
ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
2 tablesppoons walnuts
1/2 cup cream plus 3 tablespoon milk

2-3 heaped tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper

.warm cream,add butter milk and cream...warm.
add parsley.season with salt and pep.
blend well.... drizzle few drops lemon juice and serve with fish

Chicken balls with teriyaki marinade

Hi...this is a super lovely and soft as butter snack to serve.......absolutely healthy and high protein...... the yakitori sauce may take time but once made,it keeps for months....you could even make the mince and freeze it and if you have last minute guests.......this is the snack to make...learnt this from a lovely japanese restaurant............
enoki chicken balls with yakitori sauce

Enoki restaurant chicken balls in skewers
ingredients

.wooden skewers soaked in water
.One onion
.1 kg chicken mince(legs and thighs)
.100 grams carrots chopped very fine
.20 grams mushrooms chopped very fine
. 5 grams lemon rind
. one egg white
. 100 ml soya sauce
. 50 ml mirin
. 50 ml sake
. 5 grams black sesame seeds

Method
.Add mushrooms and carrots to mince
.Grate rind . chop and add to mince
.Mix in egg white .Mix with hands.Add soya,mirin,sake and sesame seeds
Press with hands and create a ball.keep
.Steam eight minutes and skewer on to wodden bamboo sticks
.Grill lightly on a non stick grill pan or regular grill with 1/2 tsp oil. Dip in yakitori sauce and serve







Yakitori sauce

.Ingredients
.soya sauce-900 ml
.mirin-900 ml
.cooking sake-450 ml
.grain sugar-350 gms
.ginger peeled- 75 gms
.chicken bones-500 gm
.green apple-1
celery-50 gm
.carrots-100gm
.cornflour-20 gm
method
.take a thick bottomed pan and boil the mirin.when boiling flame it till all alcohol burns off
.mix soya,sugar,sake and add to reduced mirin
.cut the ginger,carrots,apple,celery into 1 inch cubes and throw in sauce
.blanch the chicken bones in boiling water and add to sauce
.cook 1 hour and thicken with cornflour

Ohhh so simple spinach soup

My kids tend to avoid greens so whenever we have buttered spinach or blanched beans with olive oil n sesame as side dishes,they tend to fuss a lot.But not anymore as we now blend and soup up all these veggies and with a little drizzle of lemon juice,they polish up the soup. A high speed blender is a magical investment..you can whip up delicious pates,dips and soups at the touch of a button......the veggies can go in raw with skins on and the blender just pulverizes them to such a smooth consistency that you d never know that you were eating healthy peels and seeds..........today we made a delicious spinach soup with the blender(vitamix) and it was polished up.......here is the recipe..its too simple!!!!!!

spinach soup in the blender

ingredients

2 cups spinach washed well
3 pods garlic sliced
1/2 onion sliced
1 glass chicken stock
little salt and pepper
1/2 lemon squeezed
a dollop of cream
method
.lightly saute the onion and garlic in butter and olive oil
.add the spinach and saute 30 seconds
.add this to the blender with 1 glass chicken stock ,cream ,little salt and pepper and BLEND on high for 1 minute till you achieve a nice smooth creamy warm soup.taste for salt.
.serve in a bowl with a drizzle of lemon juice and a dollop of cream

Healthy sugar free carrot cake with wheatflour

Hi..tried out a carrot cake yesterday which was great for diabetics or health conscious.i used xylitol as 
my sugar but you could go for brown sugar too......here goes the recipe.do check out the link.

Healthy sugar free carrot cake with wheatflour
Ingredients:
.2 cups grated raw carrots, c/cut in pieces and chopped
.1 cup pecans or walnuts
.1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour, sifted 3 times
.1 1/2 teaspoons salt
.2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
.1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
.2 teaspoons baking powder
.1 cup xylitol/brown sugar
.1 cup (240 mL) egg substitute or 4 large eggs
.1 /4 cup (60 mL) olive oil

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees (180C degrees). Grease and flour a 9 x 13-inch (22.5 x 32.5 cm) pan.2. grate carrots chop pecans..





















3. Place flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and sugar a bowl and mix..

Turn on kitchen aid machine and quickly increase to med. Run machine for 30 seconds or until ingredients are mixed. Stop. Add beaten eggs very slowly  and then oil. Select HIGH. let ingredients get well mixed but dont overbeat as it can curdle. You may need to stop the machine and run a spatula around the inside of the container to integrate ingredients. 

4.Remove and stir in carrot and nut mixture. Pour into pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

cool cake on wire rack and cut from centre till you have two bases.

ice with cream cheese frosting
cream cheese frosting
,1 pkg cream cheese
.1/2 cup hung yogurt
.1 tsp vanilla
.1/4 cup better
.method
.beat till well incorporated.put in fridge and ice cake when cool.

Murg hara pyaz(chicken with spring onion greens)

Hi...tried out a lovely chicken dish today with dominant flavors of mustard seeds and spring onion greens..........here goes the recipe.......

Murg Hara Pyaz(sprinng onion chicken)
serves 2.prep time 20 mins.
Ingredients
.350 gms boneless chicken marinated in lemon juice and cut in chunks
.4 tablespoon mustard oil
.3/4 cup chopped onion
.4 large tomatoes finely chopped
.1 hpd tsp tomato puree
.2 tsp mustard seeds
.salt to taste
.1.5 hpd tsp cumin powder
.red chilli powder to taste
.100 grams spring onion green chopped

Method

.Heat 2 tablespoon mustard oil.add onions and cook till transparent.now add tomatoes and cook atleast 10 mins

.In a separate wok,heat remaining oil and add mustard seeds.saute till they crackle.

.stir in the onion-tomato mixture.cook 2 mins.

Add the chicken,salt,cumin powder and red chilli powder.
.cook for another 15 minutes on low flame.add tomato puree and cook till done.
.mix in all the spring onion green and cook 1 minute.

Remove from heat and serve hot with roti.

Hummus in the blender

Hi!!I think i may be getting addicted to the vitamix as i just churned out the most delicious Hummus in a span of 1 minute.......im sure rthis would work in a regular blender.just let it blend for quite a while though as the vitamix is a vvv high speed blender....serve this delicious hummus with pita bread crisps or cucumbers or whatever you like.....here goes the recipe
Hummus
1)400 gms chickpeas soaked overnight and boiled next morninbg till nice and tender
2)6 cloves garlic
3)2.5 lemon juice
4)tahini paste 1/2 cup or else 3/4 cup raw sesame seeds
5)1.5 tsp cumin
6)5 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
7)salt and freshly ground pepper
method
1)Drain the chickpeas,put them in a pan and cover with water.Boil and then reduce the heat to med and simmer uncovered for 1 hour or till chickpeas are tender and soft.drain
2)Put the chickpeas ,lemon juice,oil,garlic,tahini or seeds and 340 ml water in the blender in that order.secure the 2 part lid.select variable speed 1.Turn machine on and increase the speed to 10 and then high.Run for 30 secs or until smooth.use tamper to push ings into blades.Add more water if needed.
3)with the machine still running,remove the lid and add salt and pepper.OPTIONAL:you can add some olives and coriander too.continue to run for 10 secs till well mixed.serve with an olive in the middle..sprinkle some paprika and drizzle some olive oil........
health benefits:energizing. anti ageing. low cholestrol and low saturated fat.......
step by step link
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151911829725344.882473.631380343&type=1