Dark Chocolate Biscotti

I cannot believe that I haven't posted the recipe for these super decadent, ultra chocolaty biscotti recipe until now. I had made these on valentine's day as part of a death by chocolate goodie box I made for my valentine. And let me tell he wasn't disappointed at all!!!! There is something so romantic about cooking or baking something for your valentine rather than buying a gift. Its almost therapeutic for me and not to mention super satisfying to see the expression when he indulges into it. Anyways back to the biscotti's

So this was my first experiment with baking eggless biscotti's and let me tell you I wasn't disappointed at all. They came out exactly how a biscotti is suppose to be- super crunchy and perfect dunking consistency for coffee or milk.

 They are mildly sweet and the dark chocolate provided a depth of flavor along with richness which was divine.

So get into the kitchen and bake these delicious eggless chocolate biscotti for that someone special someone in your life and make him/her fall in love with you all over again!

Dark Chocolate Biscotti
(recipe adapted from cookingandme)
Ingredients:

• 1 cup maida (All purpose flour)
• 1/4 cup of melted chocolate
• 1.5 tsp instant coffee powder
• 1/3 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 flax meal egg (1 tbsp of ground flaxseed or alsi mixed in 3 tbsp of water)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180C.
• Melt the chocolate using a double boiler or in the microwave and let it cool
• Sift flour, coffee powder, baking soda, baking powder together. Mix well until combined
• Beat the butter and sugar until creamy for 3 mins using a hand mixer.
• Add the flax meal egg, melted chocolate and vanilla extract and beat again, scraping down the sides as you go. The mixture may look curdled and thats absolutely fine.
• add the dry mixture in three additions and mix until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated. Make sure not to over mix it. The dough will be semi-sticky.
• Dust a little flour on the counter and shape the dough into a 1" thick log and transfer it to a greased baking tray.
• Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15-20 mins. The top will crack a little bit. Touch the top and it should still be soft and form a dent. Remove from the oven
• Let it cool down a bit but when still warm, cut into 1" pieces using a serrated knife. If the pieces crumble don't panic.
• Bake the pieces again by placing them one side down for 10 mins to crisp up.
• Once cool, remove from the oven and let it cool completely
• Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Sparkling Watermelon Jaljeera

Mother's Day Special- Post 2

Nothing represents summer more better than a bowl of super sweet, bright red watermelon! You know summer is here when you see guys with watermelon thelas (or cart) everywhere on the road side selling fresh watermelons. Its almost impossible to resist and no matter how much you eat you never feel satisfied.

When traveling in India, especially in Mumbai, during summer time you will also notice roadside thelas of guys selling jaljeera. Jaljeera is classic summer drink which helps locals traveling beat the heat. It consists mint, black salt, cumin, ginger and black pepper which aids not only in cooling but also helps in digestion.

So for Mother's Day special drink, I decided to pair the classic summer road side drink of jaljeera with another classic summer fruit watermelon! The sweetness from the watermelon complimented well with the tanginess of the lemon and a little kick in the back of the throat provided by the jaljeera powder was  
like cherry on top!

This would pair perfectly with the Fiesta Canapes or anything which you choose to make this Mother's Day for your mum.

Sparkling Watermelon Jaljeera

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chilled watermelon roughly chopped
• 1 tsp jaljeera powder*
• 1 tsp of lemon juice
• few sprigs of mint
• Ice
• Club soda or sparkling water to top of the drink
• Sugar (optional)

Method:

• Puree the chopped watermelon into a blender. If the watermelon is not sweet, than you can add a little bit of sugar to get the desired sweetness
• Put some ice-cubes into a tall glass. Add some mint leaves roughly tearing it with your fingers to release some of its juices.
• Add the lemon juice and jaljeera powder
• Pour the pureed watermelon juice into the glass until almost filled
• Stir to combine everything
• When ready to serve, top it with a little bit of club soda or sparkling water
• garnish with a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint

*If you don't have jaljeera powder, than you can add a little bit of cumin powder, black salt, black pepper and a pinch of ginger powder. 

Fiesta Canapes

Mothers Day Special- Post 1


Mother's Day is coming up and what better way to show your mom how much you love her than cooking her simple yet delicious meal!

This entire week would feature recipes for mother's day. So lets start with a quick and absolutely impossible to mess-up with appetizer- Fiesta Canapes!

Canapes are defined as small bite size appetizers. They are usually made with a small piece of bread or cracker topped with savory or sweet spread. In India, canapes are referred to small bite size cups made out of corn. I remember as a kid this use to be my mom's go to appetizer to serve. She would fill it with some chopped onions, cucumbers, tomatoes and top it with a coriander chutney and date chutney along with sev and freshly chopped coriander as a garnish. YUMMMMM!!!!

As much as I love my mom's recipe, I decided to give her filling recipe a mexican twist! Traditionally, these corn cups are fried to make them crispy before filling them with toppings. However, I decided to bake them to keep it light and healthy. If you don't have these particular canape cups available, you can very well use tortilla cups. The filling consists of a black bean spread topped with fresh chopped salad and drizzled with creamy cilantro dressing. I had black beans on hands, hence I used that. However, the spread would taste equally delicious if made with rajma also known as kidney beans.

The  crunchiness from the baked cups along with the crisp salad and the black bean spread was divine! And to add to the freshness was the creamy dressing. It was a perfect and delicious combination!

So impress you mamma and make her proud by preparing this easy and delicious Fiesta canapes this mothers day! I promise it will be hard for her to resist and eat only one.

Fiesta Canapes

Ingredients:

• 12 canape cups or corn tortilla cups
• Chopped salad: Lettuce, tomato, green onion, corn and chopped cilantro ( you can use vegetable of your preference)
• Cilantro dressing (Recipe below)
• Black bean Spread (Recipe below)

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven at 100C
2. Line the canape cups in a baking tray and bake for 10-15 mins. Keep an eye on it so they don't turn dark.
3. Once ready to serve, add a tsp full of the black bean spread, top it with the chopped salad and drizzle with the dressing. Make sure to eat it as soon as possible to prevent the cups from turn soft.

Cilantro dressing:

• 1 cup of fresh coriander/cilantro
• 1/4 cup hung curd or greek yogurt 
• juice of 1/2 lemon (depending on the size of the lemon)
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt to taste

Puree all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Black bean spread:

• 1 cup of cooked black beans/ or rajma (kidney beans)
• 1/2 tbsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• salt to taste
• water to adjust the consistency
• 2 tsp of taco seasoning if available

Puree all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Add more or less water to get the desired consistency. Alternatively, you can also add garlic, lemon juice, jalepeno peppers if you want. This is a very versatile recipe.