EVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: ROMAN OR ITALIAN RECIPES RECIPE: CACIO E PEPE Cacio E Pepe is the easiest, yummiest spaghetti dish and it hardly takes more than 20 minutes to prepare it. Just a few ingredients and a creamy, flavourful meal is ready in a matter of minutes. This pasta dish is not heavily coated with sauce. A creamy sauce just about coats the pasta. What is Cacio E Pepe? Literally when translated to English it means a cheese and pepper pasta. Yup, simple as that. This creamy pasta is very much a part of the Roman Cuisine. However, one cannot use any cheese, it has to be Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano. Why only those cheeses? Well, it is the sharp nutty flavours of…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: SANDWICHES RECIPE: FALAFEL PITA SANDWICH Falafel Pita Sandwich is a quintessential sandwich from the Middle Eastern Cuisine. Falafel along with tomato, cucumber, salad are stuffed in pita pockets and served with either hummus or tahini sauce. Though is has many components or ingredients it is quite easy to put this sandwich together. These days it is easy to find pita bread, falafel, hummus or tahini in most supermarkets. What is a Sandwich? Sandwich is a food item whereby cheese, meat, other fillings are placed between two slices of bread. Having said that, these days sandwiches don’t necessarily come between two slices of bread. One can use wraps, buns, rotis, naans, pita, basically any kind of bread. Fillings vary from vegetables, cheese,…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: MONSOON TREATS RECIPE: WARM MEXICAN CORN SALAD/ ESQUITES Warm Mexican Corn Salad, also known as Esquites is a tangy and spicy salad that I love to have not as a side dish but as a light delicious meal. What I like about this salad that it is versatile in several ways. Which Corn Is Best For This Salad? Though fresh sweet corn is the best, frozen or tinned corn can be used. How to Cook the Corn Grill, roast or simply sauté in a pan. If you’re going to grill the corn on the BBQ grill then soak them with the covering for 1-2 hours. Grill or roast for about 5-10 minutes. The soaked covering prevents the corn from burning.…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: NO BAKE DESSERTS RECIPE: PINEAPPLE MOUSSE Pineapple Mousse is an easy to prepare, light, creamy, summery, vegan dessert. It is unbelievably delicious and perfect for summer parties. I usually prepare it a day ahead to save on time. You just need a few ingredients to prepare this dessert. You may use fresh pineapple to prepare the mousse but you need to cook the pineapple and cool it down before proceeding to make the mousse. Bromelain present in fresh pineapple is a protein digesting enzyme. This enzyme prevents gelatin or agar agar to set. In cooked or tinned(canned) pineapple the bromelain are de -natured and thus don’t prevent the agar agar or gelatin to set. I use both, cooked and canned pineapples…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: FEAR NOT THE BITTER RECIPE: AFFOGATO Affogato looks like a fancy dessert but is so easy to make and delicious. You’ll probably be left craving for some more especially if you’re a coffee lover like me. Affogato is a classy dessert that can easily be served in individual portions during a party. You just need some vanilla ice cream and strong brewed coffee or espresso. Affogato – Italian Dessert More traditionally known as affogato al caffe, it is a coffee based Italian dessert. Italians prefer to enjoy it as a dessert while many places outside Italy label is as a beverage. Hot espresso or strong brewed coffee is poured over scoops of ice cream. This results in the ice…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: RECIPES WITH UMAMI RECIPE: PATATAS BRAVAS Patatas Bravas is simply potatoes in a spicy sauce. In fact, it is a popular Spanish potato dish that is served as tapas. Actually an easy recipe, Patatas Bravas can be served as an appetizer or as a snack. Incidentally, the umami for this dish comes from the tomato paste and the fresh tomato puree. What is Umami? Umami or savoriness is the fifth taste sense. As a matter of fact the other four are sweet, bitter, sour and saltiness. Umami in Japanese means ‘essence of deliciousness’. Scientifically, umami refers to tastes of glutamate, inosinate, or guanylate. Glutamate or glutamic acid is a common amino acid in vegetable and animal proteins. Inosinate is mainly found…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: FRUITY DESSERTS RECIPE: MANGO & VANILLA PANNA COTTA Mango & Vanilla Panna Cotta is molded chilled Italian dessert with layers of vanilla and mango. Smooth, velvety and so delectable. A melt in mouth kind of dessert, panna cotta is my favorite.What I love about making panna cotta is that is it so easy to make this luscious, mouthwatering dessert. It can be served with sauces, coulis, jam, jelly, etc. Panna Cotta is so easy to make. Some heat the milk and cream together. Some heat milk and add to the cream. A setting agent like gelatin, agar agar, or vegetarian gelatin is added to allow the panna cotta to set. It should not be firm but more like a jelly consistency.…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: FOOD POETRY RECIPE: VEGAN THAI ICED TEA Vegan Thai Iced Tea is a creamy, refreshing and delicious beverage. What I like about this version of the authentic Thai Iced Tea is that it is not too sweet and is much lighter. Don’t get me wrong, I love the authentic one with sweetened condensed milk but cannot indulge in it on a regular basis. I’ve used coconut milk which adds a bit of the natural sweetness. As a result, the additional sweetener used is less. Street Food or rather Drink – Thai Iced Tea/ Cha Yen The Thai Iced Tea that is generally served on the streets of Thailand doesn’t have spices and usually is orangish in colour. The reason being…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: GARLIC LOVERS RECIPE: GARLIC PARMESAN HASSELBACK POTATOES Garlic Parmesan Hasselback Potatoes, so crispy from the outside, the middle is tender and soft like mashed potato. Coupled with the flavors of butter, garlic, olive oil, parmesan and chilli flakes these potatoes are to die for! What are Hasselback Potatoes? Hasselback Potatoes, Potato à la hasselbacken or Hasselbackspotatis are baked potatoes that are sliced till the middle and open up like a fan on baking. These were invented by a trainee chef Leif Ellison who worked at Hasselbacken Restaurant in Stockholm. Though pretty popular nowadays this side dish, starter was invented in 1953. They also go by name of Accordion Potatoes or Pillbug Potatoes. I know I’m pretty late in trying out this awesome addictive…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: A- Z RECIPE CHALLENGE THEME : AN INGREDIENT BEGINNING WITH THE LETTER W RECIPE: WHOLEWHEAT & BANANA PANCAKES Wholewheat & Banana Pancakes so soft, fluffy and delicious without refined sugar makes a healthy and nutritious breakfast or brunch for the whole family. Serve it topped with homemade chocolate sauce, fresh fruits and nuts. What are Pancakes? Pancake is a popular breakfast option in many parts of the world, be it sweet or savory. So what is pancake? Basically, its a batter of flour, liquid, a raising agent(leavening agent) mixed together and cooked on a griddle or frying pan. Known also as flapjack, griddlecake or hotcake, there are so many different kinds of pancakes all over the world. Which kind of flour is…
