Tuesday 15 November 2016

Espresso and Dark Chocolate Mousse with D'lecta

Sometime a random call to a friend can result into a pleasant invite.  This is what happened with me when I called my blogger friend Anahita Irani, who informed me about this meet and shared the details.

D’lecta and HumBhiChef had organized a Bloggers meet cum cooking workshop and I was glad to be invited for this event.


HumBhiChef conducts regular cooking training and demonstration every week. They are the training arms of D’lecta Foods Pvt. Ltd. D’lecta is a well known brand with various range of dairy, bakery and vending products.  Their dairy products are widely and popularly used in airlines and hospitality industries.  Here are just glimpse of their range of product. 


The event was at D’lecta Corporate office, Goregaon. When I entered I was so glad to see my blogger friends Shalini Digvijay of Baketitude, Gauri K of MissalPao. Soon Uttpal Krushna of Fashionable Foodz also joined us.


We soon got into checking out on all the D’lecta products displayed on the table. Now it was time for some real action in the kitchen. Chef Priya Dikshit, an official chef of D’lecta started demonstrating 4 dessert recipe using D’lecta products.  She was so sweet and patient with us as we started pouring her with questions, and she answered them all with a smile. The 4 desserts which were learned were Eggless Baked Cheesecake, Baked Yoghurt, Black Forest Cheesecake and Espresso and Dark Chocolate Mousse. 
  
1) Dessert #1 Eggless Baked Cheesecake:



2) Dessert #2 Baked Yoghurt: 


3) Dessert #3 Black Forest Cheesecake:



4) Dessert #4 Espresso and Dark Chocolate Mousse:



At the end of the workshop we were awarded with the certificate and a goodie bag J


Baked Yoghurt and Espresso & Dark Chocolate Mousse turned out to be my most favourite dessert. So today I will be sharing one of my favorite dessert ie. Espresso & Dark Chocolate Mousse.

Expresso and Dark Chocolate Mousse  - Serving 8

Ingredients:

Dark or white Chocolate  – 200 gms plus 1 tbsp grated
D’Lecta Dairy Cream – 100 gms
Instant Coffee – 4 tbsp
D’lecta non Dairy whip Topping – 300 gms plus 40 gms
Canned Cherries – 8

Method: 

Melt the chocolate and keep aside.


Add a spoon of Instant coffee powder to the chocolate.




Boil the cooking cream in a pan and pour over the chocolate immediately.

Stir to form a smooth sauce. Let it cool to room temperature.


Whip the whipping cream and fold gently all of it except 40 gms in the chocolate sauce.



Pour in individual shot glasses or in a single big bowl and keep in refrigerator to set.



Garnished with the 40 gms whipped cream, cherries and grated chocolate.


Serve chilled.


Enjoy the chillied Chocolatie Mousse :) 

Monday 31 October 2016

Easy-Pesy Diwali Snack/Faral - "Champakali"

When Diwali is right at the corner, we all start preparing for this festival of light. Along with the regular traditional Diwali snacks or faral, every year I ensure to make something with a twist. So this year the regular simple and easy Diwali faral ‘Champakali’ was made with double colour, which gave it a real flower bud look. In fact even I was surprised with the result. It not only looked beautiful but also tasted delicious.  The best thing of this Champakali is that it only looked complicated but actually it's so easy to make that even a child can make it. So I would love to share my easy, tasty and colourful Diwali Faral /Snack ‘Champakali’. In fact it one of my best Diwali Snack dish.


Champakali – Serving 14 pieces – Savory version  

Ingredients:

1 cup – maida
1 tbsp – ghee
Salt to taste
1-2 tsp – chilli pd
1-2 tsp – turmeric pd
1/4 tsp - ajwain or carom seeds (optional)
water for kneading the dough
few drops of green food colour
Oil for frying

Method:

1) Take maida in a parat or bowl.
2) Add salt to taste and mix well.
3) Heat 1 tbsp ghee.
4) Add this hot ghee to the maida.
5) Mix well. Initially use spoon to mix, as the ghee is hot and then use your finger tips. Mix till it resembles the texture of breadcrumbs.
6) Now divide this mixture in two parts.
7) In one part add turmeric powder. Mix well . This mixture will be your yellow dough.
8) To the second part add chilli powder, ajwain/carom seeds (optional) and mix well. This mixture will be your red dough.
9) Knead them both separately with warm water to form a firm dough.
10) Cover them with wet cloth and keep aside for 10 mins.
11) Form small balls and roll them into puris. You can roll out all puris at a time and keep aside and then start forming the champakali. However keep the puris covered with wet cloth.
  


To form the champakali: 

12) On a flat surface place the yellow puri and on top of it place the red puri. Even if the puris are uneven, its ok. You need not worry. 

13) Make vertical cuts on the puris, keeping  1/2 to 1”inch diameter space all over.


14) Hold both the ends and roll these puris together. Twist it tightly to form a Kali shape. 

15) Press both the tips and give it a proper kali or bud shape. 

16) Apply green food colour to one of the tips to give it a look of sepals and an real bud or kali.

17) Now heat the oil for frying and deep fry them on medium flame. 

18) Let it cool and then you can store them in a air-tight container 
19) Serve these cute little Champakali for Diwali or any festive season.
20) The above recipe is a savory version of Champakali.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Tips for Sweet Version:  


a) If you want a sweet version then omit chilli pd and replace it with red food colour or beetroot juice and knead the dough. Please note by adding beetroot juice, it will give a different shade of red colour, but will add nutritive value.

b) For sweet version instead of salt to taste, just add a pinch of salt or can even omit it completely.

c) Make sugar syrup with 1 part of sugar to 2 part of water.  Boil till it reaches ½ - 1 thread consistency. Add cardamon powder and few strands of saffron. While the syrup is still warm add these champakali and let it soak for a 30 second – 1 mins. And remove it with slotted spoon to drain out the excess syrup.  Keep aside till it cools down completely. Now it's time to store or serve.


************************************ Champakali *********************************************

Ingredients: Serving 14 pieces – Savory version

1 cup – maida
1 tbsp – ghee
Salt to taste
1-2 tsp – chilli pd
1-2 tsp – turmeric pd
1/4 tsp - ajwain or carom seeds (optional)
water for kneading the dough
few drops of green food colour
Oil for frying

Method:

1) Take maida in a parat or bowl.
2) Add salt to taste and mix well.
3) Heat 1 tbsp ghee.
4) Add this hot ghee to the maida.
5) Mix well. Initially use spoon to mix, as the ghee is hot and then use your finger tips. Mix till it resembles the texture of breadcrumbs.
6) Now divide this mixture in two parts.
7) In one part add turmeric powder. Mix well . This mixture will be your yellow dough.
8) To the second part add chilli powder, ajwain/carom seeds (optional) and mix well. This mixture will be your red dough.
9) Knead them both separately with warm water to form dough.
10) Cover them with wet cloth for 10 mins and keep aside.
11) Form small balls and roll them into puris. You can roll out all puris at a time and keep aside and then start forming the champakali. However keep the puris covered with wet cloth.

To form the champakali

12) On a flat surface place the yellow puri and on top of it place the red puri. Even if the size and shape of both puris differs, its ok. You need not worry.
13) Make vertical cuts on the puris, keeping  1”inch diameter space all over.
14) Hold both the ends and roll these puris together. Twist it tightly to form a Kali shape.
15) Press both the tips and give it a proper kali or bud shape.
16) Apply green food colour to one of the tips to give it a look of sepals and feel like a real bud or kali.
17) Now heat the oil for frying and deep fry them on medium flame.
18) Let it cool and then you can store them in a air-tight container
19) Serve these cute little Champakali for Diwali or any festive season.

Hope you will enjoy making this in your kitchen. Please feel free to leave your comments and suggestions below ....


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Friday 28 October 2016

Cake-Mixing At The Lalit, Mumbai

The months of July-Aug bring along with it a line of festivals. India is known for its festive seasons; we enjoy and celebrate every festival with equal enthusiasm. Every though there is still time for Diwali, we kick-started the Christmas cake-mixing at the Lalit, Mumbai. When I got the invitation for cakemixing from the FBAI, I absolutely had no idea what to expect. I was just willing to participate in the event.



As I walked in a bit late, most of my fellow bloggers had already arrived, however I was just in time to raise a toast and commence the cakemixing ceremony. 

There was a huge tray with an assortment of nearly 2000 kg of Raisins, Nuts, Coco, Spices, Prunes, Oranges, Tuttifruity, Cinnamon powder, Ginger, Apricots, Cashewnuts, Almonds etc. Each one of us were handed a bottle of Spirits. All the ingredients were getting drowned in the bottles of free-flowing Wines, Oldmonk, Brandy, Liqueur, Champagne. 




Then we all got our hands dirty (in a good way) in mixing it all up and getting intoxicated by the fragrance of Liqueur /Spirits. It was so much fun getting our hands in the huge heap of dryfruits and mixing it. Never knew that Cake-mixing could be therapeutically euphoric!! We all were in the Spirit of Christmas, infact that’s the beauty of all the festivals. This mixture needs to be soaked in the liqueur for a good 2 – 3 months. It then goes in the cake batter to be baked in its goodness, finally conjuring into a fabulous, delicious Christmas cake… yum yum yum …



Along with this cake-mixing traditional ceremony, the Executive Director of Lalit, Mumbai, Mr. Keshav Suri also launched the Boulangerie, which will enhance our breakfast & high tea table with chef crafted breads and cakes. At Boulangerie the breads are free of potassium, preservatives and premixes. They have varieties of breads like Walnuts Prune bread, Gluten free bread, Focaccia, Boulangerie Signature Bread and many more.




After this rapturous event, we headed toward their 24/7 Restaurant, which serves a lavish Sunday brunch. It had an endless spread starting from a huge choice of salad counter, chaat counter, shawarma gyro griller, Lebanese counter, Egg-tarian counter, Indian counter which had dishes from all over India, Desserts counter, pastry counter, bakery counter, ice cream with assorted toppings. The list goes on & on …….



















They also had a kids zone, where kids can make their own donuts & cupcakes toppings and let their creative juices flow.


 






It was a perfectly spent Sunday with the FBAI and The Lalit, Mumbai. As we winded up for the day, we were given a goodie bag from their “The Lalit Boulangerie”.  Now that’s what I call “Having a cake and eating it too” J





Head toward: The Lalit, Mumbai, 24/7 restaurant
Cusine: Multi-cusine
Sunday Brunch Timing: 12:00 - 4:00 pm
Call: 02266992222, 9869794976, 8451004250
Cost : INR 1850 + Taxes = INR 2431 (without alcohol), INR 2550 + taxes = INR 3402 (with alcohol) & INR 3050 + taxes = INR 4095 (with champagne)