Double Chocolate Cookies

It's a rainy day, and schools are closed for the summer holidays— keeping my four year old busy with decorating a chefs hat, an apron, and baking cookies was a super fun way to be cooped up at home. 

I tried a recipe from The Everything Kids Cookbook and we surely weren't disappointed. The cookies are soft and chewy, rich and decadent. 

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the first five ingredients, until smooth.
3. Add the next four ingredients.
4. When the batter is smooth and creamy, stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, or use a melon scoop to make them even and easier for your kid to do.
6. Bake for 8 minutes for chewy cookies and longer (up to 10 minutes) for crispier ones.
7. Remove cookies from oven and let it cool for 1 minute before removing cookies.

South Indian Egg Roast

I have no idea how I lived my entire life without eating these eggs. A few boiled eggs in the fridge go a long way for me— a quick breakfast, an egg salad sandwich for my kids, or an egg and tomato curry. Now that I discovered this recipe on Spices and Aroma, I am hooked! It has changed the way I view a boiled egg forever— and it'll probably change yours too. Someone suggested that we put it directly on the grill, I haven't tried it, but it sounds like a pretty amazing idea.

Ingredients

5 boiled eggs, peeled, sliced in half length wise

2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon coriander powder

2 tablespoons curry leaves, finely chopped

Salt, Pepper, to taste

Water to mix spices into a paste

2 tablespoons vegetable, coconut, or olive oil

Directions

1. Make a smooth thick paste with all the ingredients, except boiled eggs and oil.
2. Heat oil in a wide saucepan.
3. Using hands, smear a layer of the spice mix and gently layer the eggs and let it brown on each side, about 10–12 minutes. Remove and serve hot with rice or any carb of your choice.

Tandoori Shrimp

I could barely believe it when my dear friend Gunjan called me, to ask me to help her teach high school students, at the Dalton School, Indian cooking. The main reason I began writing this blog, was to share quick and easy recipes, and help promote more home cooking. Teaching kids felt like it was the ultimate! 

This recipe, inspired by a recipe by Suvir Saran, in his book American Masala, was simple and delicious. It also helped introduce the students to some of the many Indian spices. Make a batch of the marinate, smear it on paneer, shrimp, fish, chicken, lamb, cauliflower or anything you fancy, and enjoy! Adjust the spice levels and make it kid-friendly. My four year old son loved it on shrimp (omitted the chili for him). In fact, we had some extra mushrooms at the class, so I grilled the mushrooms on a cast iron pan, with the sour cream tandoori marinade and it turned out delicious!  

The students responded very well to this recipe and hopefully some of them will be cooking it at home! And read the notes below for other ways you can apply this recipe, and get more creative. 

Ingredients

For the marinade:

1 tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1 small red onion, quartered

4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

2-inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon toasted cumin

1 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 teaspoon ground cardamon

1/2 teaspoon red chili (or cayenne pepper)

Pinch of ground cinnamon

Pinch of garam masala

1 1/2 lbs shrimp, medium (shelled and deveined), about 20–25 pieces

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 lemon, juiced + 1 lemon, cut into wedges for serving

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, for garnish

Method

1. Place all of the marinade ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth.
2. Pour over shrimp, cover and marinade for half an hour or overnight.
3. Preheat the grill or grill pan to medium-high (you should be able to hold your hand 5-inches above the grate).
4. Add the oil, and grill the shrimp in batches, to not overcrowd the pan or grill, cooking until each side is browned, 2 minutes on each side.
5. Remove from the pan, squeeze lemon juice and garnish with lemon wedges and cilantro.

Notes

1. The shrimp can be substituted for chicken or lamb. Revise cooking time accordingly. 
2. Tandoor Shrimp Pizza: You can serve it on a flat bread of your choice (such as Indian naan / focaccia / pizza dough), spread hummus on the flat bread, add 4 pieces of shrimp on each flat bread, top with cilantro chutney, sprinkle with some goat cheese, garnish with chopped cilantro and finely diced red pepper.
3. Tandoor Shrimp Sliders: Spread mayonnaise on a slider bun, green chutney (or pesto), tomato slices, onion slices, Tandoor shrimp, and fresh cilantro. 

Easy Chicken Coconut Curry

With three kids to feed, I need, in my recipe bank, as many healthy one pot dishes as possible. And two of those mouths only have four teeth each! My one-year old twin girls still need their food pureed down slightly. When my husbands aunt, Didi Meenu, shared this recipe with me, I thought it would make cooking for all easy! My husband and I added some red chili to spice it up! Serve over basmati rice.

And let's not forget the most important part— this coconut curry was complete, from start to finish, in 22 minutes! Using a pressure cooker did help. If you don't have a pressure cooker, then cook it on a regular pot, but it will take longer. 

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped (finely mince and reserve 1/4 onion)

3 large tomatoes, chopped

8 cloves garlic, peeled

1-inch ginger, peeled

1 14-oz can coconut milk (you can use the light version too)

Green chillies, to taste (optional)

2 small pieces of cinnamon 

1 teaspoon cardamon powder

Salt, to taste

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

5–6 curry leaves

1 pound boneless, skinless, chicken breast, cut into bite-sized cubes, marinated in salt

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1 cup water

Cilantro, for garnish

Method

1. In a blender, blend 3/4 of the onion, along with the next nine ingredients
2. In a pressure cooker, heat the oil, fry the curry leaves and then sauté 1/4 of the onion (minced). Add the chicken and sauté until it is slightly dried up. 
3. Follow by adding the coconut milk mixture, coriander and turmeric powders. Add water, if needed. Cover and let it cook for two whistles.
4. Garnish with cilantro leaves, and serve over fresh basmati rice.

Celery Soup

This last weekend we went for dinner at one of our favorite French restaurants— Deux Amis. Our sons standard order is the soup of the day, grilled calamari, and pink-fish, a.k.a salmon. So on a lovely spring evening, we sat there with our four year old son, and twin one year old girls, eating Celery Soup. Two evenings later, my son requested the same soup. I did my best to re-create it. 

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Ingredients

1 bunch celery hearts, chopped

1 small white onion, chopped

1 small waxy potato

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 cups vegetable / chicken broth

1/4 cup fresh dill 

Salt, to taste

Method

1. In a 5qt pot, cook the first four ingredients for 8–10 minutes. Keep stirring.
2. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and it let it cook for another 10–15 minutes.
3. Puree to a smooth consistency. Garnish with celery leaves and sea salt.

Chicken Satay

One of our favorite meals at home, growing up, was chicken satay, with steamed vegetables (like potato, bean sprouts, spinach, cabbage, tofu) with peanut sauce. Given my sons peanut allergy, I cannot share this special meal with him— but I can make chicken satay for him. I served the chicken satay with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce, but below you will find recipes for a Faux No-Peanut Peanut Sauce, and then the real Peanut sauce (both of which I have made, and work great). 

Don't forget that you can make a large batch of the satays, put them in a zip lock bag, and freeze it for when you want them next. I freeze them in a serving portion for my family, so that gives me 6-8 skewers per bag. Works great for that weeknight meal.

Chicken Satay

6 servings, about 24 skewers

Ingredients

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2 stalks fresh lemongrass, thinly sliced (optional)

2 tablespoons agave nectar or honey

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon chili flakes

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, pounced flat and cut into long strips

Directions

1. Whisk together all the ingredients except for the chicken, in a shallow baking dish. 
2. Add the chicken to the marinade in the baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
3. While the chicken marinates, soak about 24 skewers in water for 20 minutes.
4. Remove from the marinade and thread the chicken pieces onto skewers.
5. Lightly oil a grill pan to medium-high; sear the chicken in batches until cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.

No-Peanut Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk (I used fat-free) 

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice

3 tablespoons honey or 2 teaspoons palm sugar or 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 clove garlic, crushed

1-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated

1/2 cup smooth sunflower butter

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil (optional)

Black pepper, to taste

2 pinches of cumin

Chili oil, to taste (optional)

Method

1. In a small bowl, stir together the coconut milk, salt, lemon or lime juice, and honey.
2. Add the balance ingredients and stir until smooth. If it is too thick, add a bit more of the coconut milk.

Real Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

1 kilo / 1/2 pound roasted peanuts (ground)

1 red onion (chopped finely)

4 pods of garlic (crushed)

1 inch ginger (grated)

1 cup tamarind juice

5 tablespoons dark brown sugar or 3 tablespoons honey

Salt and red pepper, to taste

3 cups of water

Method

• Heat oil on a high flame; add onions, ginger and garlic. Sauté until nearly burnt.
• Add ground peanuts and sauté for approximately 5 minutes. Peanuts should have a ‘smoked’ feeling to it.
• Add tamarind juice, brown sugar, salt and red pepper. Mix properly and stir for 2-3 minutes.
• Add water slowly and keep stirring so that the sauce does not stick to the pan. Let it boil until the oil separates and comes to the top.
• Cover the saucepan and let it simmer for 10–15 minutes. Remove from heat, keep it covered for another half hour or so.

To serve

• Serve with boiled vegetables: spinach, cabbage, potatoes, tofu, bean sprouts, cucumber, fried prawn crackers (kheecha) etc.
• To top the sauce, have deep fried and burnt finely chopped onions / red chilli powder.

Can also eat with white rice and fried shrimp crackers.

Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Sunday morning baking. One of the most therapeutic ways for me to begin this lazy weekend day. While my daughters were napping, my son and I leisurely baked these cupcakes away. Lately, my freezer has had a ton of ripe bananas, with my kids love for all things banana. Thank you Alice's TeaCup for sharing this recipe in your cookbook and rescuing those two very ripe bananas. 

The cupcakes turned out moist, deliciously sweet, with a perfect slightly crusty top. All in all, this recipe is a keeper for me, and one that I will surely re-make.

The book suggests that they are delicious unfrosted, and true enough, they were delicious with and without the frosting. 

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

2 very ripe bananas

¾ cup canola oil

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick (½ cup) butter, at room temperature

1½ cups cream cheese, at room temperature

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Mash the bananas in a small bowl, and set it aside.
3. In a large bowl, use a mixer to combine the oil and sugar until fully mixed. 
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla, and keep mixing until smooth. 
5. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. With the mixer set at the lowest speed, add the flour mixture a little at a time, mixing until all is combined and the batter is smooth. Use a spatula to fold in the bananas by hand.
6. Fill a nonstick muffin pan or 12 cupcake cups half-full with batter, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck into the middle comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely in the pan.
7. Make the frosting: use a mixer to cream the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl until fully combined and smooth. With the mixer set on the lowest speed, slowly add the confectioners’ sugar, mixing until it is completely incorporated and the frosting is smooth.
8. Use an offset spatula to frost the cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting. (For neater cupcakes, you can put the frosting in a pastry bag and pipe it onto the tops.)

Asparagus Mousse

Every time I am in Mumbai, I must order the Asparagus Mousse from my friend Yakuta Sarkari, of Cold Food Company. It is light and fluffy, packed with flavor, a beautiful perfect green, and simply to die for! But now that I am a few continents away from her, it looks like I have to make it myself. 

Which is what got me down to researching recipes online, and found one from BBC that looked good. The recipe includes a ham and red onion salad to be topped on the mousse, but I like it spread on a toast. An alternate to the salad would be to layer a slice of prosciutto or jamon serrano, top with some freshly cracked black pepper, and enjoy! 

Serves 4  |  Prep time: 30 minutes  |  Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

250 grams asparagus, finely sliced, chewy ends removed (about 8–10 stalks)

Salt, to taste

300 ml whipping (heavy) cream

200 ml whole milk (mousse is just not meant to be low or fat-free! do not substitute with low or fat-free milk)

1/2 garlic clove, sliced

Handful baby spinach (this helps with the color, and doesn't overpower the taste of the asparagus)

2 1/2 gelatine leaves, soaked in a little cold water

1 egg white

Method

1. Melt the butter in a heavy-based pan. Once it’s foaming, add the asparagus and cook for 4–5 minutes until soft, but not colored. Season with salt. 
2. Remove from the pan and drain well on a kitchen paper towel. 
3. Rinse out the pan and pour in the cream, milk, and garlic. Bring to a boil, simmer until reduced to 350 ml‚ check by pouring into a measuring jug— then add the asparagus and boil for a few seconds. Remove from heat.
4. Blend the mixture in a liquidizer along with the spinach leaves, then sieve into a clean bowl.
5. Add the soaked gelatin and stir until dissolved. Sieve again and allow to cool for a few minutes in the fridge, but do not let it set.
6. Beat the egg white with an electric mixer with the whisk attachment to soft peaks, then carefully fold into the asparagus mix and season.
7. Divide the mousse between 4 glasses of ramekins and leave them to set in the fridge, overnight.

The Best Ever Banana Bread

I have several other Banana Bread recipes— and they are all good. But this one hit the spot. So much that I now buy twice the amount of bananas, only to be sure that we have four ripe bananas available at any point of time! This recipe for the comfortable dessert is lighter, more balanced, and has the perfect caramelized thick crust.

TastingTable.com adapted this recipe from Dominique Ansel, Dominique Ansel Bakery, New York, NY, and said this about it: Anything Dominique Ansel touches morphed into a delectable treat— even something as classic and humble as banana bread. Here, Ansel rescues the fate of over-ripened bananas, turning them into an exceptionally moist cake.

They go on to say that at his bakery, his tinkering doesn't stop with the finished loaf. He soaks bits of it into sweetened condensed milk for tres leches and smears layers of mascarpone over the milky bread to make a decadent tiramisu.

Yield: 1 loaf  |  Cook time: 1 hour and 10 minutes  |  Total time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS
2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt

WET INGREDIENTS
3 eggs, at room temperature
4 ripe bananas, mashed

14 tablespoons / 200 grams unsalted butter, melted

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 10" x 5" x 3 1/2" loaf pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
3. In a separate medium sized mixing bowl beat the eggs and combine with the mashed bananas.
4. Add wet ingredients (egg-banana mixture) to the dry ingredients and mix together until just combined.
5. Mix in the melted butter until fully incorporated.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before slicing (if you can wait!)

Daniel Boulud's Madeleines

Every year, my husband and I must have our anniversary dinner at Daniel’s. In fact, we even have our table preference on their system. The food is divine, the service is fabulous and right at the end, they come to your table with these warm madeleines fresh out of the oven, dusted with powdered sugar, in a white cloth basket. It is truly the perfect end to the already perfect meal. So when I saw this recipe, I was thrilled. 

As if you need another reason to make these mini cakes for dessert: The batter can be prepped the day before. So you too, can serve these, fresh and warm out of the oven, after dinner.

Thank you Bon Appetit (February 2015) for sharing this recipe with us.

Special equipment: Three 20-cake mini madeleine pans or one 12-cake regular madeleine pan

Ingredients

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon or orange zest

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted, warm

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Powdered sugar

Method

1. Whisk baking powder, salt, and flour in a small bowl.
2. Whisk eggs, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, honey, and lemon zest in a medium bowl until smooth. 
3. Whisk in dry ingredients until just incorporated, then which in melted butter until smooth.
4. Transfer batter to a pastry bag or resealable plastic bag and chill for at least one hour. Do Ahead.
5. Preheat oven to 400F. Light coat madeleine pans with nonstick vegetable oil spray and dust with flour, tapping out excess.
6. Snip end off pastry bag into each mold, filling two-thirds full (you may have batter left over).
7. Bake madeleines until edges are golden brown and centers are puffed and lightly spring back when gently pressed, about 5 minutes for mini and 8–10 minutes for regular cakes.
8. Tap pan against to release madeleines. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.