Soupe à L’oignon Gratinée (French Onion Soup)

Ingredients:

Onion - 7 to 8 nos medium size.
Garlic - 3 cloves
Basil - 1 tsp
Black pepper - 1 tsp
Red/white wine of your choice - 2 tblsps
Bay leaves - 2
French bugget - 1 no
EV Olive oil - 1 tblsp
Butter - 1 tblsp
Cheese - 1 cup (different types of cheese mixed. For this receipe i have used - 3 diferent kinds of non-salty swiss and Dutch cheese)
Chicken stock - 4 cups
Salt as per taste
2 oven proof (ceramic) mugs

Recipe:

 

1. Thinly slice the onions.

2. In a sauce pan heat extra virgin olive oil and butter together.

3. Add bay leaves and finely chopped grlic to it. Saiute it for a minute.

4. Now add the sliced onion and saute untill the onions gets caramalised (golden brown in color).

5. Add chicken stock, wine, basil, black pepper and salt as per taste. Let it boil for 20-30 min on low flame.

6. Meanwhile cut the french bugget in slices. Toast them in preheated oven for 15 mins on 90 degree celcius.

 

7. After 20-30 mins our soup will be ready. Check for salt and papper.

8. Now we need to bake it again in the oven along wih cheese and the french bugget slices for 15 mins.

For baking:

9. Take oven proof soup cups or a large pot. Place 1-2 toasted bugget slices at the base of cup and sprinkle some mixed cheese over it. Pour a cup of soup on it.

 

10. Again top it with toasts and some cheese. Fill the remaning soup mugs, same way. 

11. Preheat oven at 180 degree celcius for 10 mins. Place the soup mugs in it and bake for 15 mins or till the top layer of the cheese becomes golden brown in color.

12. After 15 min take out the soup and let the hot cups rest for 5 to 7 mins before serving.

 

Valentine day specail Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

For Pancakes:

Refined Flour -  1 cup
Powdered Sugar - 3 tblsps
Egg - 2 nos
Milk - 1/2 cup
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Butter - 2 tblsps melted
Vanilaa essence - 1 tsp
Salt a pinch

For Icing :

Fresh Cream - 1 cup
Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup
Coco powder - 4 tblsps
Vanilaa essence - 1/2 tsp

For Garnishing:

Chocolate flakes - 1/2 cup
Chocolate truffles - 4-5 nos
Powdered sugar - 1 tblsp

Recipe:

1. First we'll prepare the pancakes. Mix all the dry ingredients, listed above for pancakes. In another bowl, mix 2 eggs, butter, milk and vanilla essence together.
2. Pour this eggs mixture on refined flour, and make a batter from it.
3. Keep this batter aside for an hour.
3. After an hour, make 20-25 thin pancakes from the batter and let it cool down for some time.

4. Meanwhile lets prepare the chocolate icing:
5. Take a bowl, with 10-15 ice cubes in it. Put another bowl over it and pour fresh cream, coco powder, sugar and vanilla essence in it. Beat them all together with egg beater for 2-3 minutes or untill thick cream is formed.
6. Dont overbeat the cream, or it will start to curdle. Keep the cream in fridge for some time.
7. With the help of round shape cutter or some dish, cut all the pancakes in same shape.
8. Place one pancake in a dish. Apply chocolate icing on it and again top it with another pancake. In the same manner make layers from pancakes and chocolate icing.

9. After the last pancake, cover the cake from all side, with remainig icing.

10. Gently apply, chocolate flakes on the sides of cake. Garnish it with chocolate truffles and powder sugar.
11. Put the cake inside fridge for 3-4 hrs. Chocolate cake is ready to eat.
12. You can enjoy the chocolate cake with your valentine ;)

Tips:

1.  Inase your batter becomes thicker, you can increase the amount of milk in it.
2.  Lifting this cake is a bit difficult. Hence, i recommend to layer the cake on the same plate, which you wish to present. Then clean the edges of the plate with the help of wet tissue paper.
3. You can also add your choices of fruits in between the layers.
 

Happy Valentines Day to all my friends and followers.

Dal Rasam

Ingredients:  

 

Yellow pigeon peas(Toor Dal) - 1/4 cup

Mung beans -1/4 cup

Tomato - 1 no
Curryleaves - 4-5 leaves
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Black pepper - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1-2 tspA
Asafetida - 1 tsp
Tamrind pulp - 1/2 tblsp
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Oil / Ghee - 1 tblsp
Coriander - finelly chopped for garnish.
Salt as per taste

Recipe:

 

1. Wash and soak the dals in hot water for 1/2 hr.
2. In a pressure cooker, add soaked dal with one tomato. Pressure cook it for 3-4 whistles.
3. Open the cooker, once its cooled. Mash the dal and tomato together.
4. Add 3 cups of water to it. Mix well and set it aside for 15 minutes.
5. This will help to settle down the mashed dal and tomatos, leaving the water on the surface.
6. Gently remove that water in another bowl.
7. In a pan, dry roast cumin, black pepper and coriander seeds. Finely grind it.
8. In pan, heat some oil. Add mustard, curryleaves, asafetida, turmeric, red chilly powder and
dry roasted powder of cumin, black pepper and coriander seeds.
9. To this, pour the water which has now come upto the surface of the dal. Add tamrind pulp and salt as per taste. Let it boil for 4-5 minutes and garnish with chopped coriander.
10. Hot and sour dal rassam is ready. You can enjoy it with steamed plain rice or you can have it as it is.

Note:

1. You can also temper it after boiling for 4-5 minutes.
2. If you dont have the tamrind, you can replace it with lemon juice.