Quail Fry (Hola masala)

Quail is a small bird found and consumecd as a delicasy in France, Japan, Malta, Portugal, Poland and also in India. Cooking quail is very easy compared to any other meat. In India its also known by its local name "Hola". I hope you will find this recipe interseting.

Ingredients:

Quail - 2 nos
Curd - 1/2 cup
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1 tblsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tblsp
Lime juice - 1 tsp
Salt as per taste

Recipe:

 

1. Wash the quail thoroughly and pat dry with tissue paper.
2. Apply 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tblsp red chilly powder, some salt and marinate for 1-2 hours.
3. Heat some oil in a pan. Add marinated quail and fry it well from all sides for 3-4 minutes.
4. Once they are half done, add remaining turmeric, red chilly powder, garam masala, curd and salt as per taste.While adding the salt, keep in mind that we have added some salt in marination as well. Mix well. Let it cook for 5-10 minutes.
5. Once the quail is fully cooked and all the water dries out, add 1 tsp of lemon juice and switch off the gas.
6. Serve hot with some cocktails or mocktails as accompaniment.

Caramel custard

Ingredients:

Egg - 2 nos
Milk - 2 cup
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
Vanilla esence - 2-3 drops

Recipe:

1. Heat 2 cup of milk and let it cool down.
2. Beat 2 eggs with 1 cup of sugar and vanilla esence with the use of egg beater.
3. Meanwhile in a sauce pan add 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 tblsps of water. Mix well and let it cook untill caramelised.
4. Add cold milk in the egg mixture and mix well.
5. Coat the base of the custard mould with 1 tblspn of caramel.
6. Fill the mould with strained egg and milk mixture.
7. To cook this custard in a cooker, add some water in a cooker. Place this mould in it and let it cook for 20-25 minutes without whistle.
8. To cook this custard in oven, put this tin in a big tray filled with some water. Place this tray in the oven at 150 degree celcius for 20-25 minutes.
9. Once the custard is cooked, remove it and let it cool down. Before demoulding this custard run a knife along the edges of this tin.
10. Place it upside down in the serving plate and gently remove the mould.
11. You can serve it hot or cold. I have served this custard with some caramel design.

Strawberry-Rasberry Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Mascarpone cheese - 500 gm
Greek yogurt - 100 gm (can be replace by hunged curd) 
Sponge cake - 1 (cut into 2 layers)
Sugar - 250 gm
Jiletin - 1 tblsp
Hot water - 1/2 cup
Eggs - 2 (only egg white)
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tblsp
Lemon zest - 1/2 tsp
Strawberry - 1 kg
Rasberry - 1 tin
Cake pan (spring bottom pan)

Recipe:

1. Let the mascarpone cheese come at room temprature.

2. Dissolve the jiletin in 1/2 cup hot water.
3. Add sugar and vanilla essence to egg white and bit it with electric bitter till it forms the soft pick.
4. Mix the cheese and greek yogurt together. After mixing it well, add egg white and sugar batter to it. Add dissolved jiletin to it and mix it well.
5. Add lemon juice and lemon zest to it, mix well.
6. In a cake pan, apply some butter to a bottom. Put 1 layer of sponge cake on it.
7. Pour half of the cheese batter on it and place 2nd layer of cake on it. On top of it, fill up the whole top portion with halfed strawberries.

8. Pour remaining cheese batter on it. Level it and let the cake set in fridge for 2-3 hrs.
9. After 2-3 hrs remove the cake from fridge. Garnish it with tined rasberries and strawberries.

10. Again put it in the fridge for 1/2 hr.
11. After 1/2 hr remove it. Remove the tin base, from cake tin. Cut the cake into pieces.

12. Cake is ready to eat.

Puffed chicken roll with mushroom sauce

Puffed chicken roll with mushroom sauce


Ingredients:

Chicken breast - 2 nos
Mushroom - 2 cups finely chopped
Pasty sheets - 1 packet
Refined flour - 2 tblsps
Milk - 1/2 cup
Cooking cream - 1/2 cup
White wine - 3 tblsps
Black pepper powder - 2 tblsps
Basil - 2 tsp
Butter - 1 tsp
Egg yoke - 1 no
Olive oil - 2 tblsps
Salt as per taste


Recipe:

1. Heat 1 tblsp olive oil in a pan. Add chopped mushroom it it. Add salt, black pepper, basil as per your taste and saute it for 2 minutes.Once the mushroom mixture is dried, place it in another plate and let it cool.
2. Slice each chicken breast in half. Apple some salt and black pepper on it.
3. Spread the cooled mushroom mixture on it and roll the breast. Take a cling film, roll the chicken breast with this film and keep it in the freezer for 45 minutes.
4. Meanwhile heat oil in another pan. Add chopped mushroom to it. Add salt, pepper, basil as per taste. Add white wine to it and boil it for 5 minutes. Then add refined flour, saute it and add milk. When the mixture statrs to boil add cream and switch of the gas. When this mixture cools down, make a puree of it and strain it.
5. Again heat this strained puree for 2 minutes. Mushroom sauce is ready.
6. Roll the puffed pastry. Cut it into rectangle strips. Remove the chicken breast rolls from the freezer and remove the cling film. Now, roll this freezed chicken in the pastry sheets. Seal the chicken from all sides with pastry sheets. To seal the pastry you can apply some water around it's edges.
7. Preheat the oven at 200 degree celcius for 10 minutes.
8. Grease a baking tray with butter and put the rolled chicken breast on it. Beat the egg yoke and apply this on each roll. Slit the pastries lightly from top for designing. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on it.
9. Place the baking tray inside the oven for baking at 200 degree celcius for 25-30 minutes.
10. Once baked, remove rolls from oven. Let it cool for 10-15 minutes.
11. Cut the pieces and serve it with mushroom sauce.

Pineapple pastry

Pineapple pastry


Ingredients:

Vanilla sponge cake - 1 no
Pineapple - 1 tin
Heavy whipped cream - 4 cup
Castor sugar - 3 cup
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Chocolate sauce for presentation

Recipe:

1. Cut the sponge cake horizontally in 3 halves, in such a way that you get 3 equal sizes of the cake.
2. Strain the pineaaple pieces from tin. Do not thorw the sugar syrup.
3. Lightly soak each half of cake with this sugar syrup. Make sure the sponge cake doesn't become mushy.
4. If you have whole pineaaple rings in the tin, cut them into small pieces.
5. In a bowl, take whipped cream. Add sugar and vanilla essence to it. Beat this cream with electric beater. To avoid curdling of cream, place this bowl in another bigger bowl which is filled with ice cubes. Beat this cream till it forms the soft pick.
6. First take the bottom half of the soaked cake. Apply some beated cream on it. Spread it evenly with the use of palette knife. Sprinkle the pineapple cake on it.
7. Apply the second layer and repeat the above procedure.
8. Finally assemble the topmost layer. Apply whipped cream to the entire cake. Dip a palette knife in hot water, wipe it with kitchen napkin and smoothen the creamy surface around the cake with it. Assemble the pineaaple pieces over it in decorative manner.
9. Use a piping bag for borders and design of your choice. You can use chocolate sauce for decoration as well.
10.  Refrigerate the cake for 1 hour before serving. Pineapple pastry is ready!

Note:

To understand how to cut sponge cake in half, please refer my marzipan cake recipe posted before. 

Eggless chocolate cake

Eggless chocolate cake

Ingredients:

Refiend flour - 1 and 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Coco powder - 3 tblsps
Oil - 5 tblsps
Vinegar - 1 tblsp
Water - 1 cup
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp

Recipe:

1. Sieve all th dry ingredients together and mix well.
2. Add vanilla essence, oil, vinegar and water to it. Mix all these and make a cake batter.
3. For the dropping constistancy of batter, you can add some more water or milk.
4. Preheat the oven at 180 degree celcius for 10 minutes.
5. Pour the batter in greased baking tray.
6. Place the tray in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
7.In between,you can check the readiness of the cake by piercing any toothpick, fork or knife in it. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready.
7. Remove the cake from oven. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes.
8. Enjoy your eggless chocolate cake.

Chocolate Brownie

Chocolate Brownie


Ingredients:

 Butter - 100 gms
 Castor Sugar - 75 gms
 Eggs - 2 nos
 Refined flour - 50 gms
Cocoa Powder - 50 gms

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven at 200 degree celcius for 10 minutes.
2. Mix all the ingredients in a blender and blend together to a paste.
3. Spread the brownie paste on to a greesed baking tray.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
5. Remove and allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut into squares.
6. You can serve this with whipped cream, ice-cream, mapple syrup or chocolate sauce.

My style stuffed crust chicken pizza

 My style stuffed  crust chicken pizza

Ingredients:

Refined Flour - 2 cups
Yeast - 8 grms or 1 sachet
Hot water - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 tblsp
Unsalted butter - 3 tblsps
Boneless chicken - 1 cup
Tomato - 4 nos
Onion - 2 nos
Capsicum - 1 no
Mashroom - 1/2 cup
Tomato sauce - 2 tblsps
Mozerella cheese - 2 packets of grated mozerella cheese
Italian herbs - 1 tblsp
Garlic - 2-3 cloves
Chilly flakes - 1 tblsp
Black pepper powder - 1 tsp
Salt as per taste


Recipe:
1. Mix 1 tblsp refined flour, sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and yeast to hot water. Mix it well and keep it aside near warm place for 15-20 minutes.
2. After 15-20 minutes, yeast would be fermented. Add this fermented yeast to the refined flour and make a soft dough. Put this dough in a double sized bowl and keep it covered near the warm place for 1-2 hours.
3. Boil 3-4 cups of water in a sauce pan. Wash the tomatos, remove the stains and give some slits on it. Put this tomatoes in boiling water. After 2-3 minutes remove the tomatoes and immediately place them in the ice cold water. The skin of tomatoes should come out. Make the puree of these tomatoes in a mixer.
4. Make small sized pieces of chicken. Apply some salt and black pepper to it and keep it aside.
5. Chop onion, capsicum and mushroom in medium sized cubes.
6. In a pan heat some butter. Add chopped garlic to it and saute.
7. Add chopped onion and capsicum to it. Saute it for 1 minute.
8. Then add chopped mushroom to it and saute it again.
9. Now, add tomato puree to it. Add some black pepper powder, chilly flakes, italian herbs and salt as per taste. Cover it and let it cook for 5 minutes.
10.Add tomato sauce to it and mix well. Let this sauce simmer on low flame for 15-20 minutes. Keep stiring after every 5 minute. When it comes to a sauce constistancy or becomes thick switch of the gas.
11. After 1-2 hours, take out the refined flour dough. The dough should be double in size. Knead the dough again.
12. Take a medium sized ball from this dough. Roll it in a circle of 1 mm thickness.
13. Put this rolled dough on a pizza baking dish. Gather some mozerella cheese on the edge of the dough. Now, fold the edges of dough inside. So that, the cheese shall get seeled in the circular edges.
14. Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 250 degree celcius for 10-15 minutes.
15. Now, aaply some sauce on this pizza base. Put chicken pieces on top of that. If you like, with chicken add sliced onion, mushrooms, sweet corn and capsicum on top of the base.
16. Finally, add mozerella cheese on top of the pizza.
17. Kepp this baking tray in the oven at 250 degree celcius for 20-25 minutes or till the cheese gets melted and brown in color.
18. After 20-25 minutes, take out the pizza. Cut it into pieces and serve hot.
19. While serving you can again top it up with some extra virgin olive oil, chilly flakes or black pepper powder.
20. Enjoy this stuffed crust chicken pizza hot.

Valentine Day Special - Strawberry Mille-feuille

On the occassion of  St.Valentine's day would like to share a french recipe - Strawberry Mille-feuille.
This is not the exact original french recipe but a variant which does not contain Cognac and white chocolate mousse.

Ingredients:

Milk - 1 and 1/2 cup
Castor sugar - 8 tblsps
Refined flour - 1/4 cup
Egg - 2 egg yokes and 1 whole egg
Butter - 2 tblsps
Vanilla essence - 1 tblsp
Pastry sheets - These sheets are available in the freezer section of any departmental store.
Strawberry - 250 grms
Castor sugar - For garnish
Skewer - Equipment for designing

Recipe:

1. Pour the milk in a sauce pan and heat it. Switch off the gas just before the milk reaches it's boiling point.
2. In a bowl take 2 egg yokes, 1 whole egg and add 8 tblsps sugar to it. Mix it well.
3. After the mixture gets smooth in texture, start to add refined flour spoon by spoon.
4. Continue the process until the flour is finished.
5. Add the 1/2 cup of hot milk in this egg mixture to tempre it. Mix it well.
6. Pour this mixture in the remaining milk.
7. Put this sauce pan on medium heat and continuously stir it until it becomes thick in constistancy and then switch off the gas.
8. Add butter and vanilla essence to it. Mix it briskly. Pour this mixture in another bowl, cover it with thin film and keep it in a refrigerator.
9. Remove the pastry sheets from the refrigerator and let it rest till it reaches room temperature.
10. Once it reaches room temprature, roll it at a thickness of around 1 mm. With the help of heart shaped cutter cut the sheets.
11. Preheat the oven at 200 degree celcius for 10 minutes.
12. Place all the heart shape pastries on a baking tray and let it bake at 200 degree celcius for 15-20 minutes.
13. Once they are baked, let it cool down.
14. Remove the pastry cream from refrigerator. Apply this cream on one side of the baked heart.
15. Cut strawberries and place it over. Repeat the process once.
16. Finally, cover the strawberry layer with a underside creamed heart.
17. With the help of siever sprinkle the castor sugar on each pastry.
18. Heat the skewer on a gas, and place it on a pastry for 2 seconds for design.
19. Refrigerate it for 30-40 minutes. Serve it cool.

Broccoli Soup

Broccoli soup inspired by Chef Gorden Ramsay


Ingredients:

Broccoli - 1bunch
Extra virgin olive oil - 4 to 5 tblsp
Water - 3 to 4 cups
Black Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Cheese or butter for garnish


Recipe:

1. Boil water in a saucepan. Add broccoli florets to it. Let it boil for 5 minutes.
2. Strain the florets, but do not throw away the boiled water.
3. Add florets, boiled water, black pepper powder, extra virgin olive oil and salt in a mixer. Finely grind these ingredients together.
4. Pour this in a serving bowl.
5. Garnish with extra virgin olive oil, cheese or butter by choice. Serve hot.