CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE PUDDING

This is a super duper recipe, always a hit with all types of guests. This is a long waiting recipe to be posted. The process is so simple to be executed if executed as given in the recipe.

I have specially shared an eggless sponge recipe with an intention to solve the problem we face when catering for veg and nonveg guests together.

I will be posting the step by step pictures very soon for a more clear idea of the process.

Recipe for Chocolate truffle pudding

Ingredients for Chocolate sponge cake

• 1 cups maida or all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 6 tbsp oil
• 200 gms condensed milk
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ baking soda
• 1 cup milk (at room temperature)
• 1 ½ tsp vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• A pinch of salt

How to make

Add vinegar to milk and keep aside.

Sieve together maida, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda. Keep aside.

Beat together oil and condensed milk in a mixing bowl.

Add vanilla essence, a pinch of salt and powdered sugar. Mix well.

Add half of the milk and beat till a smooth mixture is formed. Then add half of the sieved maida mixture.

Now add in rest of milk, beat and then add remaining maida mixture.

Beat till all the ingredients are mixed well.

Grease a 6x6 inches baking dish. Transfer the batter to the baking dish.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 deg C for 35 to 40 minutes.

Ingredients for Chocolate ganache

• 200gms dark chocolate compound (roughly chopped)
• 200gms whipping cream

 How to make

Take the chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl.

Add cream to it.

Microwave for 30 seconds + 30 seconds.

Keep aside for 2 minutes. Mix well till smooth and shiny.

If required microwave for more 30 seconds.

Ingredients for Chocolate truffle pudding

• Chocolate sponge cake
• Chocolate ganache
• 200gms whipping cream
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/3 cup water

How to make

Beat the whipping cream till it doubles up in volume and stiff peaks form.

Dissolve the sugar in water. Keep aside.

Slice the cake with a thickness of half an inch.

Line the serving dish with the chocolate sponge cake.

Soak it with the sugar water.

Now layer with the beaten cream. Even the surface of the cream with a spatula.

Top it with chocolate ganache to cover the cream completely.

Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Finally, garnish with some more whipped cream.

Chill in the refrigerator for minimum of 6 hours before serving.

NAVANAKKI DOSA/MILLET DOSA

Navanakki or foxtail millet is a good source of protein and dietary fibre. It is mainly consumed in southern India. Many recipes, both sweet and savoury are made from navanakki.

The process of soaking, grinding followed by fermenting the dosa batter is similar to the rice dosa batter preparation. The given proportions of navanakki dosa yields crispy dosa.

The taste of navanakki dosa is different from the regular rice dosa. It can be relished with coconut chutney and potato sabzi. Onion, tomato and peanut chutney is also a good option.

It is the beginning of winters, the weather is not very warm here in Hyderabad. I kept the dosa batter overnight in the preheated oven and it fermented really well.

The temperature of tava or griddle should be not too cold or not too hot. In both the conditions the batter may not spread evenly, it will stick to the ladle while spreading. You may have to make a couple of trail rounds to get the correct temperature. Once you get the hang of the correct temperature, the mess can be easily avoided.

Recipe for Navanakki dosa

Ingredients for Navanakki dosa

• 3 cups navanakki or foxtail millet
• 1 cup boiled rice
• 1 cup urad dal or black gram dal
• Salt to taste
• Oil or ghee for frying

How to make

Wash navanakki, boiled rice and urad dal 2 to 3 times. Soak for 4 hours.

Grind to a fine, smooth batter. Add some water while doing so or else your grinder may get overloaded.

Add salt and mix well.

Cover with lid and keep the batter in a warm place (I kept it in preheated oven) overnight for fermentation.

As you can see in the picture the batter has fermented really well.

Mix with a ladle, add water to get a thick but pouring consistency. If your batter consistency is correct skip this step.

Spread a ladle of batter on medium hot tava or griddle to make a round shaped, thin dosa.

Spread a teaspoon of oil or ghee around the edges. Once the edges are brown remove with a flat spoon. If the dosa is thick flip it and cook for a minute.

Give it a fold from the centre. Serve with chutney, sambar or potato sabzi.

BASIL CUCUMBER MOJITO

Mojito is a Cuban cocktail. Traditionally it contains white rum, salt, sugar, mint, lemon juice and soda water. This recipe is a variation of the traditional mojito.

Mojito has the best flavour when prepared fresh with fresh ingredients and served immediately. It is generally prepared after the guests arrive. It serves as a good entertainment for the guest and also they can suggest some adjustments in sweet and sour taste if required. If your guests prefer alchohol add 30 ml of white rum.

Given measurements makes a single serving. It is easy to muddle the cucumber if chopped into smaller pieces. I have used English cucumber, seeds are soft. Choose cucumber that are smaller to medium in size. If using the regular variety of cucumber discard the seeds.

The process includes muddling, that is to gently press the ingredients with a wooden pestle and crush them in order to soften them and release their flavour.

Recipe for Basil cucumber mojito

Ingredients for Basil cucumber mojito

• ½ cup cucumber (finely chopped)
• 4 fresh basil leaves
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Half a lemon
• A pinch of salt
• 100 ml soda or sparkling water
• 6 ice cubes
• A pinch of crushed black pepper

How to make

Put the cucumber pieces, sugar, salt and pepper in a deep, transparent glass container. You may use a jam bottle for this.

Gently rub the basil leaves between the palms and add to it. Now use a wooden pestle to muddle the ingredients. Muddle until the sugar dissolves and the basil and cucumber release their aroma. This will take not more than a minute.

Put some ice cubes in serving glass.

Top it with the muddled mixture.

Now pour some soda or sparkling water. Serve immediately.

RAW TAMARIND THOKKU/ CHINTAKAYA THOKKU

Tamarind thokku is a mouthwatering preparation similar to the pickles. Thokku is also referred to as chutney or pachadi.

This is a very old recipe of thokku which comes from my nanima, who belonged to Andhra. Thokku rice has always lit up my mood, especially when mom fed me with her hands.  I think that added to the taste and made it much tastier.

First the base for thokku is prepared with raw green tamarind, salt and turmeric powder. Then as per the requirement the thokku is removed in a bowl and tempered. This is grinded to a coarse paste. Water should not be added to it. The tempered thokku can be stored for one to two months in the refrigerator.

Thokku has a good shelf life, it can be stored for over a year. As a child I remember thokku pounding used to be a big affair involving all the females and kids of the house. Washing, cleaning and then pounding the tamarind with turmeric and salt.

Choose green, big, fuller and hard variety of green tamarind. Discard the flat ones and the ones which have started to ripen. Such tamarinds are available in the market around the month of October and November.

Use ceramic achaar barni or jar only to store the thokku. Wash the jar thoroughly. Then sundry it. Also remember to cool the jars to room temperature. Do not put the thokku in a warm jar.

I have used sea salt in this recipe. Table salt can also be used. The number of green chillies may seem too much. The pungency of green chillies balance the sourness of tamarind. The amount of green chillies can be adjusted according to their pungency.

Recipe for Raw tamarind thokku

Ingredients for Raw tamarind thokku

• 1 kg raw tamarind
• 2 tbsp turmeric powder
• 250 gms sea salt or table salt

For tempering

• ¼ cup oil
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds or rai
• ½ tsp fenugreek or methi seeds
• ¼ tsp asafetida or heeng
• 12 to 15 green chillies

How to make

Firstly wash and dry the tamarind in shade.

Separate the flat and small size tamarinds. Remove the dried stems.

Cut the tamarind into one inch pieces.  Check the pieces from inside for any dark patches, discard it.

If the seeds are hard remove them.

Pound the tamarind in small batches. Gradually keep adding the salt and turmeric while pounding in batches.

Transfer the pounded thokku to a clean and dry jar. Keep in a cool dry place for a week.

For preparing the thokku, remove the required quantity in a bowl.

Heat oil. Roughly break the chillies in two or three pieces. Fry it in oil for a minute. Remove and keep aside.

In the same oil add methi seeds, rai and heeng. As the rai splutters remove from heat.

First grind the green chillies.

Then add the thokku and seasoning to it. Grind without adding water to get a coarse paste.

Serve it over steamed rice and a spoonful of ghee or oil.

RAW TAMARIND PACHADI/ CHUTNEY

Raw tamarinds are available in market in the months of October or November. During this time a number of delicacies are prepared with raw tamarind like tamarind pickle, tamarind thokku, tamarind dal and so on.

This recipe is simple and flavourful. It tastes wonderful with plain steamed rice and pappadums. It can also be enjoyed with yellow dal and chawal or with chapatti.

Recipe for Raw tamarind pachadi

Ingredients for Raw tamarind pachadi

• 1 cup raw tamarind (cut into 1 inch pieces and deseeded)
• 10 dry red chillies
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 10 cloves garlic
• 10 to 15 curry leaves
•  ½ cup oil
• Salt to taste

How to make

Heat oil in a kadai or skillet. Add mustard and fenugreek seeds.

As the mustard seeds begin to splutter, add curry leaves and red chillies.

Add in the garlic cloves. Saute for a minute. Remove from heat.

Transfer the above ingredients to a chutney jar (leave some oil in the kadai). Let it cool for some time.

In the same kadai, saute the raw tamarind pieces for 5 to 6 minutes on medium heat or until soft. Let it cool for some time.

Dry grind the ingredients in the chutney jar.

Now add the tamarind and salt. Grind it further to get a coarse textured chutney. Do not add water.

Transfer to an airtight container.

RED WINE BASIL PASTA SAUCE

The given proportions yield a small bottle of sauce, roughly, which can be used for two preparations.

The tomatoes are fine chopped as I prefer them that way. If you wish to puree the tomatoes, feel free to do so. The flavours here are slightly strong as we will eventually mix this sauce with the pasta.

The amount of red wine used in this recipe is just enough to have the tangy, deep taste of wine. I have used my homemade red wine. 

Two cups of wine can be added and simmered for an hour to get a deeper taste. Considering the fact that all may not prefer more winy tasting sauce. Amount of wine can be adjusted anywhere between half to one cup according to your preference.

To get a fine texture of sauce, you can deseed and puree the tomatoes. Also, once the sauce is done, you can blend it in a blender and pass it through a sieve.

Sugar may be required to be added I case the tomatoes are tangy or the red wine is not sweet enough. Sweetness is required to balance the taste.

Recipe for Red wine basil pasta sauce

Ingredients for Red wine basil pasta sauce

• 2 cups or 4 medium sized red tomatoes (finely chopped)
• 1 small onion (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 cup basil leaves (finely chopped)
• 1 cup red wine (any variety)
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sugar to taste (if required)

How to make

Heat the olive oil and add the onions.

Saute till onions turn translucent. Add minced garlic. Saute for one minute.

Now add the tomatoes. Mix well.

As the tomatoes turn soft, add basil. Mix well.

Now add half a cup of wine. Simmer for 6 to 7 minutes.

Add salt and pepper as per taste. Taste the sauce. If you wish add some more wine and further simmer till you get the thick saucy texture.

Also check for sweetness and adjust the sugar accordingly.

.

If you want to blend the sauce for smooth consistency, ensure that it has cool down to room temperature.

Transfer the sauce to a clean and dry, airtight bottle. Can be stored in the refrigerator up to two weeks.