Devil's Yule Log Cake With Espresso Cream

Oh I love holidays that too when it's coupled with festivities. Coming from a multicultural soceity every holiday is being directly or indirectly absorbed in the family. In West holidays are the best thing. Despite the cold, numb weather the spirit of the holidays, the lights, the decorations and the food especially the desserts warm up the soul. Yule log cakes are one such holiday dessert.
To get into the spirit of the holiday season, make these Devil's dark chocolate yule log cake layered with espresso butter cream and covered in dark chocolate ganache.
I chose to go with dark chocolate in this recipe because we love dark over milk but you can feel free and make it with milk chocolate (ie.regular cocoa powder) and replace the amount of dark chocolate mentioned in the recipe with milk chocolate.
 Also you can use a ready made devil's cake mix to make the steps easier. You should follow the instructions on the cake mix box but make sure to bake in a sheet pan, the size of which is mentioned above. And the time varies from the one given in the pack. So follow timing as I have mentioned.
If you don't have cream of tartar...you can avoid separating eggs and instead mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately and mix as you would do for any other cake.
But if you follow the method I have given the cake will be extra soft, spongy and more moist.
If you fall under the really sweet tooth category and an extra 1/2 cup sugar to the filling recipe.
 If you try please leave your comments on how it turned out.

INGREDIENTS :

For The Cake:
1/4 Cup all purpose flour
1/4 Cup cocoa powder
1/4 Cup extra-dark cocoa powder
1/2 Tsp baking powder
3/4 Cup sugar
6 Large eggs separated
1/4 Tsp cream of tartar
1/2 Tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

For The Filling:
1 Cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 Cups powdered sugar
1 Tsp vanilla extract
2 Tsp espresso/instant coffee powder

For The Ganache:
1/3 Cup heavy whipping cream
11/4 Cups dark chocolate chips

METHOD :

Filling:
 In a small bowl mix the coffee powder with vanilla essence/extract and keep aside. Using the whip attachment, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 mins, scrapping the sides. Reduce the speed to low and add the powdered sugar little at a time. Once all the sugar has been added, increase speed and beat for 2 minutes until fluffy. Add the vanilla coffee mixture and beat at high speed, until completely mixed. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Cake:
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat and line a 15*10*1 inch sheet pan (cookie sheets with 1inch depth) with non-stick/cooking spray and line with parchment paper and coat the paper with non-stick spray too.
Take another piece of parchment paper about the size of the pan separately.  Dust the surface with powdered sugar and keep aside. We need this to fold the cake once its baked.
In a small bowl whisk together flour, 2 types of cocoa powder and baking powder.
In another large bowl beat the egg whites with salt and cram of tartar until light and fluffy. Add 1/4 cup sugar to this and beat on high for 5 mins.
In a third bowl beat egg yolks, other 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla until pale and thick.
Fold egg whites into this yolk mixture and then the flour mixture little by little.
Spread into even layer on the prepared sheet pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 to 15 mins, testing after 12 minutes with a toothpick.
Once done take the cake out, run a knife along the edges and invert on the parchment paper, already prepared earlier. Roll up the cake along with the parchment paper and let it cool completely.

Ganache:
When ready to assemble the cake make the ganache by heating the heavy cream over medium-low heat until bubbles form around the edge. Turn off heat and add the chocolate chips, stirring inbetween until the chips are completely melted and smooth.

Once the cake is cool, unroll it and spread the frosting already made and kept in the refrigerator and roll back the cake alone leaving the parchment paper. Place onto a cooling rack with seam side down. Carefully pour the warm ganache over the cake and make sure it covers all sides.
Remove to a serving plate, cut and serve.

Baked Fajita Hashbrowns

Potatoes are those happy roots..I mean in my wiki there would be no one who can say no to potatoes. Wait.. I don't know but I just love potatoes and made my family fall in love with it too. One of the first dishes I made for my life partner and made him wow (I was still a novice then and his close friends would never believe he liked a vegetable, something that was not chicken) was a potato dish. I would love to share that recipe but, some other day. Ok, coming back to the subject. I was making hash browns and then stopped frying them half way because I was in a mood to try something new, easy and cheesy. So here you go! The awesome easy, cheesy baked heaven.

INGREDIENT :
Makes 12

3 Big Idaho potatoes
1 Small yellow onion
1 Tsp dried oregano
1 Tsp salt
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp olive oil/any cooking oil

METHOD :

  Preheat the oven to 400 degree F.
  Prepare  a 12 cup muffin tray by spraying non stick spray.
  Peel the onion and finely grate in a handheld grater and keep aside.
  Clean the potatoes and finely grate these too. Once all the potatoes are grated, squeeze out any extra  moisture from the potatoes as much as possible. You can either place them in a kitchen towel in batches and squeeze tightly to drain all the liquid or even use your hands.
   Line a microwave safe plate with paper towel and place the grated, squeezed potatoes and heat it for about 1 min. You should do this in two batches. This step helps to get  a crispy texture to the hash.  You can also avoid this step too.
   Take this potato in a mixing bowl, add the grated onion without any liquid and the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.
    Equally divide and fill in the prepared muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes or until the top turns golden and crispy.
    Once done let it cool for 5 minutes and remove to a plate and serve warm.
    These baked fajita hash are crispy outside and soft inside and tastes great with the fajita seasoning.

Madras Biryani

This Madras Biryani is one of a kind, rich in taste, enhanced in flavors and so tempting. This particular recipe is from one of my dear friends who is an expert in making this and I have a bunch of fans for her biryani at my place.  The measurements have to be exact and she advice us to use India Gate brand rice to get a flawless one. While cooking the rice, it is better to stay by the stove and keep a close watch because here even a minute will let the rice over cook which might result in over cooked biryani. So keep watching, the rice should not have an al dente bite to it but also not fully cooked too. I have given almost exact times. Depending on the brand of rice used, it might take an extra minute.
Also the time it takes to cook the meat varies and she advises that the flavors are well preserved if we do the cooking in a pan rather than a pressure cooker. Though it is a little time consuming, it's worth the effort.
The process as such is very simple for such a scrumptious outcome.
Always try pairing with tomato jam, raita and fried pappadam.

INGREDIENTS:

41/2 Cups (1kg) Basmati rice

21/4 lb (1kg) Goat meat

2 4" Piece Cinnamon

10 Green cardamoms

10 Cloves

1 Big Bay leaf

3 Big (500gms) Onions

3 Big (500gms) Tomatoes

10 Green Chilies

15 Tblsp (200gms each) Ginger and garlic paste

2 Cups (1 bunch) Chopped coriander leaves

2 Cups (1 bunch) mint leaves

4 Limes

1 Tsp Red chilly powder

1 Tsp Garam masala powder

1/4 Cup Oil

Water as needed

Salt to taste

METHOD:

To make curry:

Clean and cut the meat into somewhat large pieces.

Chop onion and tomatoes and slit the green chilies. Clean and peel the skin off the ginger and garlic and make a paste out of it. Squeeze the juice out of limes.

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Once hot enough, add the dry spices and fry for a minute. Then add the chopped onions and fry until the color becomes a little brown. Then add the slit chilies and then the ginger and garlic paste. Give it a nice stir and let cook until the raw smell is gone. Add the cleaned meat to this and mix everything for a minute. Then add the chopped mint and coriander leaves. Fry them until they release the flavor. Finally add the tomatoes, give a quick stir and then goes in the lime juice. Stir them together just to combine. Check for enough salt and add enough for this curry.
If cooking the meat in a pressure cooker add a little water, maybe less than 1/4 cup, close lid and cook on medium high heat for two whistles. Then reduce the flame to medium low and simmer for about 10 minutes and switch off flame and wait until the pressure subsides. Open lid and see if the curry is well cooked but not falling apart. Also this amount of time varies according to the freshness of meat.
So you might want to reduce the simmering time to 5 minutes and check in between once to make sure the curry is not over cooked.
If you prefer cooking on pan, reduce the amount of water to half and on medium flame cook the meat. Check often giving a stir and adding water to keep from burning. Do not add too much water because we don't want the curry to be runny.

To make rice:
Clean and soak the rice for about 30 minutes.
Simultaneously boil water in a 10 quart pan or a big pan to cook and drain one kilo or two pounds rice.
Add a tablespoon of oil and enough salt to cook the rice.
Once the rice has been soaked, drain them and add to the briskly boiling water. The boil subsides once rice is added, and again when the water comes back to a boil set the timer for six minutes. When timer goes switch off stove and drain the water immediately.
Now layer the rice and meat on alternate layers in a wide mouthed pan coated with ghee.

Dumm:
You can do the dumm over the stove or in the oven. If using oven its 350 degrees(F) pre-heated oven for 30minutes.
If doing it on stove top, heat a thick iron tava, place the biryani vessel over this, reduce flame and leave it for about 10 mins.You can keep a weight on top or a pan of boiling water or seal the sides with wheat dough. Put off flame and leave it undisturbed for 30 minutes.
When done, the rice and curry should be mixed together and voila! the Madras biryani is ready to be served.

Coconut Chicken Soup

I was planning on making Tom Yum soup. But then I had this chicken broth with coconut cream stored earlier from another recipe. I was thinking of making use of it and then this idea just came to mind. So tried this out and turned out as a hit. Hope you guys would enjoy too. You might not need all the chicken pieces in the soup but you need this many pieces to flavor the broth. Also just roughly break few twigs of coriander and you don't really have to chop them fine. This is kind of clear soup. Feel free to thicken with corn flour if you like. Lime juice is added just before serving.

INGREDIENTS:
Servings 4

For Broth
4 Pieces Chicken
1/4 Cup Coconut Cream
1 Cup Water
1 Tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
1/4 Tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 Tsp Red Chilly Powder
Salt to taste

For Soup
1 Whole Lime
4 Whole Green Chilies
2" Piece Ginger
2 Tblsp Chopped Coriander Leaves
4 Cups Water
1/4 Cup Coconut Cream
Salt to taste 

METHOD:

    Clean the chicken pieces and marinate with turmeric powder, chilly powder, ginger-garlic paste and salt. Mix the coconut cream with water and cook the chicken pieces in this liquid until done.
Remove the chicken pieces from stock and shred and keep them aside separately.

Peel off the rind from lime and squeeze juice and reserve. Slice the ginger.

Bring the water to a boil in another pan along with the lime rind, ginger pieces and the coriander leaves. When it comes to a brisk boil reduce heat and leave it closed with a lid for about five minutes to let the flavors infuse. After 5 mins add the reserved chicken stock and shredded chicken pieces. Mix well  and add the other 1/4 cup coconut cream and heat through. Check for salt.

While serving place a slit green chilly and few drops of lime juice in each bowl and ladle the broth along with the lime rind, ginger, coriander leaves and chicken pieces.
  
   

Vegetable Soup

This all vegetable soup is a great way to feed vegetables to your family. You get this vibrant color because of tomatoes and carrots and will attract the little people in the family too. This can be served at anytime of the day. Make this parmesan crips to go with it on the side and kids would love it. I started making this soup following a fellow blogger's recipe. You can avoid the dairy here and make it vegan too. Very easy yet delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

Makes 6 Serving

1 Medium onion 

1 Bay leaf

1" Cinnamon stick 

2 Garlic pods

3 Carrots 

1 Small potato 

4 Tomatoes 

2 Stalk cellery

4 Cups chicken stock 

2 Tsp pepper powder 

1/4 Cup cream or milk (optional)

Salt to taste 

2 Tblsp oil 

METHOD:

  Clean, deskin and chop all the vegetables. Heat a soup pot over medium flame and add oil and fry the bay leaf and cinnamon. Then add the onion and garlic. Fry until translucent. Then add all the vegetables one by one and fry them. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Then add the chicken stock (you can either use vegetable stock or plain water).

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for about 20 mins on low flame or until the vegetables are tender.

Once done, remove the bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Cool down completely and transfer to a blender and purée it.

Then transfer back to the pot, warm the soup and check for seasoning. Add cream ( if using) and serve warm.

Wheat Rava Biryani

Wheat rava biryani is very authentic to our own place. A festive food you could say, very flavorful, rich, and a most welcome dish. Most or all wedding meals begin with this as the breakfast. In most gatherings or functions, wheat rava biryani is the non-vegetarian version of breakfast served with fried chicken, banana, and hot tea on the side.

This biryani can be served as breakfast or dinner. Making it for lunch is your choice.

The rava used is mostly a fine variety of white or brown wheat. 

INGREDIENTS:

11/2 lb Goat meat

21/2 Cups wheat  rava

5 Cups water

3 Tblsp oil

2+1Tblsp ghee

1 Bay leaf

2" Cinnamon stick 

4 Cardamoms 

4 Cloves

2 Big onions

2 Medium tomatoes 

4 Green chilies slit

2 Tblsp ginger garlic paste 

1 Tblsp curry powder 

1 Tsp red chili powder

1 Tsp garam masala powder

1/2 Cup chopped coriander leaves

20 Nos mint leaves

2 Tblsp lemon juice 

Few drops pineapple essence (optional)

Salt to taste

Garnish:

1 Tblsp ghee

10 Cashews broken

2 Tsp raisins 

METHOD:

  Chop onions and tomatoes lengthwise. Slit green chilies.

Clean the meat and cut into medium sized pieces.

Heat a pressure pan/cooker over medium heat. Add the oil and 2 tblsp of ghee into the pan. When it is slightly hot add the bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Let their flavor infuse the oil, about two minutes. Take care not to burn them.

Then add the chopped onions along with a pinch of salt. The salt helps the onion to wilt quickly and bring out the flavor.

Once it starts to turn slight brown, add slit green chilies and give it a minute. Then add the ginger garlic paste. Mix well and add the chopped coriander and mint leaves. Fry them for few seconds and add tomatoes. Once tomatoes get cooked add the spice powders and mix well. Finally add the meat.

Stir everything together add salt and cover and pressure cook the meat for two whistles, reduce flame to medium low and cook for 10minutes. You can either add a little water to cook the meat or if the meat it fresh the natural fluid will help. Just make sure there isn't much liquid left in the cooked meat. Switch off the stove and wait until the pressure subsides. 

Open the pan and check if the meat is done.

If there is gravy, just strain the liquid and reserve it.

Add the rava to the meat and fry for about 2 minutes. 

If there is any reserved gravy measure it along with water, make it to 5 cups( reduce water quantity) and add to the rava meat mixture, stir together, add lemon juice and the pineapple essence if using, check for salt and bring it to a boil. When the water gets obsorbed you can see bubbles on top, add the remaining ghee at this point, give it a stir, close the lid with the whistle, simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes.

Switch off flame and let the pressure subside.

Fry the cashews and raisins in the ghee.

Once you open the cooker, add the fried cashews and raisins,stir everything together. Serve hot.

P.S: 

 You can also fry the rava separately in ghee and once the meat is cooked you can add water adjusting the quantity according to the amount of gravy left. The water should be double the measure of rava.

Garnish is a must.

I prefer to fry the rava along with the meat so the flavor comes out really well.

Pineapple essence is optional.

I prefer serving with fried chicken as side. 

If you like raita go for it.

Puff Pastry Chicken Empanada

It's Ramadan and Iftars are always special. When you have little kids fasting making something they might love is showing your way of appreciation. These Puff pastry empanadas are a twist to your regular puff pastry filling. The aroma is chanceless. 

INGREDIENTS:

Makes 10 Servings 

1 Pack puff pastry 

1 Egg

1 1/4 Cup shredded cheddar cheese 

1 Lb chicken breast 

1 Big onion choppped 

2 Jalapeños chopped

1 Tomato deseeded and chopped 

1/4 Cup chopped red bell pepper 

4 Tblsp oil

Spice mix:

2 Tsp red chili powder 

1 Tsp paprikka

1 Tsp cumin powder 

2 Tsp dried oregano

1 Tsp salt

METHOD:

Preheat oven according to the puff pastry package instructions.

Mix the ingredients in the spice mix and keep aside.

Clean and cut the chicken into one inch cubes. Take half the spice mix and rub all over the chicken pieces.

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until light brown. Remove and keep aside.

In the same pan heat the remaining oil and fry the choppped onion, once they turn translucent add the tomato, then the jalapeños and the bell pepper and stir and cook for about two minutes.

Add the remaining spice mix to this and fry until aroma comes out. Then add the chicken pieces, give a stir check for salt and add more if needed.

Sprinkle some water, stir together, cover the pan and simmer for 5 mins.

The empanada filling is ready.

Unroll the puff pastry sheets. On a floured surface roll the sheets thin and spread into squares. Place some chicken filling top in with about a tablespoon of cheese and close and seal the pastry sheets into triangles.

Make two shallow slits on surface with a knife to help steam escape and brush it with egg wash.

Bake according to the time mentioned in your puff pastry pack or until light golden.

Serve plain or with salsa and sour cream.