Mango Sutra!!Mango Mousse Cake

Another Mango Dessert...
Another Decadent Indulgence...
But hey...its hot...and a mango mousse can only cool.
And if you pair it with cake...then that's double the whammy!

And the most beautiful part...the wriggly mousse  behaves itself two days after its creation too! Soft and firm at the same time...even though I'm not a big fan of mango...I loved the mousse"y" bit.
Please!
Spare yourself the torture and make this ridiculously easy dessert.

History...been there ,done that! I used to make just the mousse as dessert...last year I filled a bundt cake with the mousse and then frosted the cake...too much effort for a fraction of the taste.
This is Inspired by Tiramisu...
You need a basic sponge, make it yourself or buy one from the market ,some eggs and non dairy...low fat cream,fresh or tinned mango puree and a recipe of the Mango Sutra!Mango Flavoured Piping Gel .
Easy Peasy!

More detailed Instructions...

for the


Mango Sutra!!Mango Mousse Cake...

you need


1 basic sponge
300 mils mango puree
1/4 cup water/mango juice
1 tbsp gelatin
300 mils low fat non dairy cream-I use Rich Cream
3 egg whites
1/2 cup or 120 mils milk for soaking the sponge
3 tbsp icing sugar
1 mango chopped

That's the sponge  cake, sliced through the centre.The egg less sponge from eggless sponge cake and tiramisu  will do too.

Set on the serving platter and in the ring mould. If you don't have a ring mould,use a glass bowl...either way it works. You can use sugar syrup to soak the sponge, but cold milk is great too. Pour the milk over the sponge.

Spread the chopped mango over the cake. If you are not keen to bite into or chew into the mango...you can skip the mango.

Now separate the eggs and dump the yolks for future use.I did double the recipe...so I used 6...go with 3.

That's the gelatin on a double boiler, soaking in the mango juice. Let it sit on the double boiler and melt, and then quickly stir well.

That is the mango puree,nothing fancy...just fresh mango whizzed in the blender and measured into a bowl.

The egg white must be whipped to stiff peaks....If you look carefully, the peaks are visible behind the icing sugar. Once you've done the eggs ,add the sugar.And whip further till well blended.

Whip the cream till a LOT of air is incorporated into it.This is the gelatin into the mango puree,and stir it in fast.

To this add a third of the eggs...

And back into the egg whites.You are trying to fold it all in.

Fold in well..

Now is the turn of the whipped cream. You might fold it in, but a hand held whisk is good.Make sure you blend it well..you don't want streaks of gelatin in your mouth.

See, blended well.The mango flavor is there..you don't need colour or essence...

Poured over the cake.Smooth the top and let it set in the fridge for atleast 4 hours.

OK...after 4 hours I removed the ring. Needs a little cleaning, so I frosted the sides with the leftover mousse.There go the plans of the mousse in brandy snifters!

Mango on the top and the mango piping gel poured over....

Neater???
The piping gel adds a wonderful contrast to the mousse...
Cold, Soft and yum...

Nice....

You also have Katrina Kaif to keep you company! Ab ras barsega!

Sliced ...and still behaving itself. A little vodka would have added a kick to the mousse...so if you are not intending to feed kids...soak the cake in vodka and add a peg or two into the mousse...And be sure to let me know...here there were too many kids to even consider the "daaru" er vodka.

Try the Mango Sutra!!Mango Mousse Cake and live the bliss with the king of fruits...with out the mess.

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Meat Beli Ram/Belli Ram...Cooking with the Masters

Mutton..

Back to evolution...
Back to the days when I read and cooked.
And learnt that the way to a happy man's heart is definitely through his stomach.
In the early days of my marriage when I was struggling with food....just putting a decent looking dish on the table was a challenge.
But no, I had to live up to the standards set by hubby dears grandmother and my mother...
Every dish ,even though I poured my heart and soul into it...was good, but the "nani" and "ma" made it better.
Then sweet sister interned in Maurya Sheraton...and I learnt some secrets, which she never used but thankfully passed on to me.
I'm much the richer , thanks to the time she spent at The ITC Maurya Sheraton!
At that point in time...any way Jiggs Kalrs led,I would have walked blindly.
And he did lead beautifully.

The directions I endeavoured to undertake with this book, no other chef has put forth.
Almost one, Maharaja Digvijaya Singh of Sailana.
These two books, If you can master...you can do just about anything Indian.
Let me Introduce you to Beli Ram.
According to google, he was the chef of Maharaja Ranjit Sing of Patiala...and this dish is fit for kings.
This dish came from here...

Simple but almost painful.

And worth the time you spend stirring and doubting the recipe.
Somewhere in the beginning, you will think...something has gone wrong ,but patience pays here.

Garner Plenty.
For the


Meat Beli Ram/Belli Ram...Cooking with the Masters...

you need


1 kg lamb/Mutton  assorted cuts
2 2/3 cups or 600 mils fresh curd/Yogurt
500 gms /3 cups finely sliced onions
8 tbsp ginger garlic paste
10 green cardamom pods
5 cloves
2 1-inch sticks cinnamon
2 tsps salt
2 - 3 tsp Kashmir Red Chili powder/Red chili flakes
125 mils ghee
6 tsp coriander seeds whole

If you have foresight ,or plan well, you can marinate the lamb overnight. Otherwise at least one and a  half hour is a must.
Whisk the yogurt.

Finely slice the onions. I was sneezing so much after the onions I needed to take a break from the kitchen for some time.
But after an antihistamine...I was back!

That is the amount of ginger and garlic...which was less!

In the bowl ,with the meat, the yogurt and the onions and the ginger garlic paste...the salt, red chili ,the cardamom, cloves and the cinnamon.

This I had to show you...see the stick of cinnamon...hubby dear brought back from down south for me!
Any thing to do with making food better...

All in...and covered to marry the flavours.

Now for the actual cooking...you need a large pan or handi or wok or kadai....
Heat the ghee...hubby dear fears cholesterol attacks , so I have strict instructions to avoid ghee as far as possible.
I used mustard oil...and my extracted tooth would not have supported so many coriander seeds( my jaw is still tender) I used half the coriander and ground them a bit.

OK, oil smoked...coriander seeds in and popped...

Just bung all the stuff from the bowl to cook,bring to a boil, and then cover and leave on simmer.

Stir occasionally...don't expect your meal in a jiffy...this is one for the slow cooker.

You need to cook till the mutton is tender...it will look a little ill and bland.

Once the lamb is tender, then you need to exercise your muscle...increase the heat and keep stirring.

you will need to de glaze the pan....or keep adding a little hot water to lift off the flavours from the bottom of the pan.

And your patience will be rewarded.

OK this photo does not do justice...
And how...the aromas would have driven you crazy by now...time to roll out the rotis or bread....

And Attack.

A little coriander and ginger sticks to make the dish look pretty.
This took almost 3 hours to cook, but hubby dear and sweet child were HAPPY!

Easy, but difficult at the same time...
And well worth it!

It does not work with chicken...the chicken will fall of its bone before the onions are cooked. So go with lamb....and you will not be disappointed.



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Mocha Frappuccino with Filter Kapi...er Coffee

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!
This is not Spain ,and it certainly is not raining here...yet!
As we sweat it out in Ranchi,and sweet sister sips strawberry frappucino's in Delaware...we sweat a little more!

Conflict of the blogger and camera...

My molar was extracted last week...suffering from caffeine deprivation ever since. Nothing hot! I braved a cup of filter kapi...er coffee this morning with many regrets...I was left with a container full of filter coffee that would go waste.

So I froze the coffee...

And made Mocha Frappuccino with Filter Kapi...er Coffee.

I was surprised with the refreshing and creamy taste,even though I used skim milk.
And the glass was hijacked by sweet child.
He scorned nonchalantly at efforts.

If you have leftover filter kapi...quick dump it into the freezer. and if you don't,just brew some coffee or use a spoon  of instant coffee disolved in a cup of water and freeze that for the Mocha Frappuccino with Filter Kapi...er Coffee.

And you'll forget McDonalds or Nestle or even other any place  that sells frappuccino's.

for the


Mocha Frappuccino with Filter Kapi...er Coffee...

you need

1 cup/240 mils cold skim milk
1-2 tsp sugar-according to your taste buds...
6-8 cubes coffee ice cubes
a generous squeeze Hershey's chocolate syrup

I chilled the Hershey's in the freezer because I wanted the syrup to coat the glass.

These are the coffee ice cubes. Sweet child is quite accustomed to the strong taste of coffee...a lesser mortal may shiver with this onslaught of caffeine! So coffee cubes according to what you can take.

The milk in the blender with a squeeze of Hershey's.

Now the sugar and 8 cubes of the coffee cubes...
Rad!

Blended and poured in to the glass!
If at first the child is not tempted...
Stick it under his nose!

See...with Richie Rich or Jughead...whatever...I loose track!

OK...no bake...
But Awesome!

Validated and fewer curses for my dentist after this shot of caffeine!

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Methi Chicken, An Ode to Sanjeev Kapoor

Hello yesterday!

Memories have a strange way of rearing their head..

they come up because of friends, family and ...food!

And little girls!

Hubby dear has almost no experience with little girls...he being the luittle one in the family and the only little girl related to us being half the world away..he is CLUELESS!

Much to his horror, a few days ago he was attacked by the affectionate Desi Girl...Vanisha Thapa(who incidently believes John Abraham is her private property...just waiting for her to grow up and marry him). My Macho Man ,who can make most men shrivel in their shoes, was flummoxed.

She bulldozed her way into his heart and now...no its still not aww to little girls ...but he is quite open to the idea of little pink booties and bibs!

This brought back memories of sweet child , when he was tiny and adorably adoring...now a prickly pear will shrivel in comparison- Teenage approaches!

Well...at least hubby dear felt the pull!

And then was talk of food and how my cooking had evolved.

And how I started.

All thanks to mum!

As long as we were in Delhi, any thing new was just a phone call away ...and then we moved far east ..And then phone calls were not that easy...so I turned to my surrogate chef-teacher.

Sanjeev Kapoor.

Loads of stuff he taught me, me,I diligently sat with a diary and noted all that he dished out and tried ...it all very often.

Some days were diamonds and some were stone!!
PS Sanjeev Kapoor was on the other side of the TV screen....

This recipe for the most succulent chicken came from one of the episodes of Khana Khazana...

Methi Chicken.

Over the years I have made a few changes, varied the proportions and the ingredients ...but the beauty of the intermingling flavors always makes me happy!

If you like chicken, and like the bittersweet flavor of fenugreek...try it. We rarely have left over’s and mostly everyone wants the lion’s share of the thick masala/curry. The pieces of chicken are just ok!

For my 

Methi/Fenugreek  Chicken, An Ode to Sanjeev Kapoor...

you need

8 pieces chicken-any cut/cuts or 1 whole chicken-anywhere between 800 gms to 1200 gms

4 large onions sliced

3 ripe tomatoes pureed or 100 mils tomato puree (ready made)

½ - 1 cup fresh cream/malai (avoid UHT)

¾ cup yogurt

5- 6 green chilies split through the center

2 tsp fresh ginger garlic paste

2 cups fresh chopped Methi or ½ cup Kasoori Methi

100 mils mustard oil/ vegetable oil/ghee

6-8 cardamom pods

Salt, red chili flakes/powder to taste

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp coriander powder

Start with the chicken. If you can, mix the chicken with the yogurt and a spoonful of salt a few hours before you are going to start the cooking process. If you can’t, no worries …

Half an hour will also do.

Heat the oil in a wok or a deep pan.

Add to that the sliced onions, the cardamom and the slit green chilies.

Let them cook on not too high a flame; you can add the salt and the coriander powder to speed up the process.
This time,we had a ton of fresh green garlic scapes at out disposal, so to add a double whammy to the taste, I added 1 cup of fresh garlic scapes....pods,chives et al.

Otherwise ginger garlic paste is good too.

That is sweet sister pounding at the ginger.
Once the onions are translucent add the ginger garlic paste and now increase the flame to now help caramelize the onions. The onions are sweet enough on their own and will caramelize and brown themselves. Just don’t leave them alone at this stage.

If you are using fresh chopped fenugreek/Methi this is the stage to add the well washed and drained leaves.

 Add them on a high flame and let the leaves sear and shrivel.

Add the red chili powder and turmeric now.

Puree the fresh tomatoes and add to the cooking masala and fry till it leaves oil from the sides.( I used tomato puree out of a box.)This is indication that the masala is cooking.

For the dried Kasoori Methi, make sure you tip the leaves plus an extra spoon in a sieve and wash well under running water. Squeeze the leaves dry and then use them.

With the dried Kasoori Methi, cook the onions and ginger garlic paste, when the onions brown add the tomato puree and then the washed Kasoori Methi.

Once the paste starts to ooze the oil out, add the spices.

Now either way you are ready for the chicken.

Increase the flame to high and tip the chicken in marinade and all.

Keep stirring till most of the liquid evaporates.

Cover and cook, stirring regularly.

Check for seasoning ….so keep tasting.

Remember the only organ you need to trust is your tongue.

It may taste a little bitter…but no worries...the bitter blends with the butter….

If the chicken seems to have lost its liquid, add some hot, boiling water…lubrication is important.

You’ll need to cook this till the chicken is just done. You’ll see the oil all napping the chicken lovingly….almost like a blessing of good taste.

Remove the cover and tip in the malai/fresh cream

and mix well.
On a high flame again, just bring the chicken masala to a boil and turn it off.

Serve hot with tandoori rotis/naans or just garlic bread…

It tastes perfectly mellow,spicy and yummy at the same time.

I topped the chicken with fried green chillies...
Simply slit them and fry in a spoon full of oil...

I remember a time when someone came over for dinner, and after the masala was wiped clean from the serving bowl ,asked me to bring my pan to the table…he scraped out all the masala he could and left my table a satisfied man.

That’s how yummy this chicken is.

Sanjeev Kapoor has held my hand (well this recipe has) many a time during the last 13 years…

Never has this dish disappointed.

Try this and make some happy memories of your own.

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