Home made Ginger/Garlic and Ginger Chili paste

Hello Sweeties!!! How is the mausam vibhag/akka the weather department holding in your neck of woods.

We are still facing harsh winds and bouts of colds but this is a passing phase as spring is in the air, the trees are showing signs of good bloom and summer will be here soon.

Summer is a very active and busy season for us who get only about 10-12 weeks of sun and  heat, so it is spend outdoors to the max. 

Fast and easy one meal pots are welcome and minimum work in the kitchen is on my charts. To make my work easy and yet do a tasty meal, I prep ahead with chopping veggies, and making ginger garlic and ginger chili pastes.

You will need;
To make Chili-Ginger Paste-- The green paste in the picture.

1 and 1.2 inch ginger washed and peeled
20-25 small green chilies, chopped roughly
2 tbspn White distilled vinegar
2 tspn salt
1-2 tspn oil

Grind all the above with little oil. Spray with oil the plastic or glass container you will use and store the ground paste. This will stay in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

To make Ginger-Garlic paste-- The white paste in the picture
**Cool trick to peel garlic in less than a minute
Peel garlic in less than 10 secs-- This Actually works.
 
3 inch ginger washed and peeled
2 small bulbs of garlic, peeled
2 tbspn White distilled vinegar
2 tspn salt
1-2 tspn oil

Grind all the above with little oil. Spray with oil the plastic or glass container you will use and store the ground paste. This will stay in the fridge for about 2 weeks.
Indian cooking often calls for using such pastes and ginger and garlic are used widely in many recipes. These time saving things will help you with cooking everyday meals and take them a notch higher.

Choclate Whipped Cream frosting

Hello Sweeties!!!! Today is a good day. I bring to you something sweet, something chocolate and something Purrfectt together.

 I recently made this cake for my sweet cousin and he absolutely loved the cake. So on popular demand the whipped chocolate icing has to be posted on this space.

Cake recipe-- Try my perfectly Chocolate cake

Chocolate whipped Cream icing;
You will need;
The icing is whipped cream pudding icing.
** Whipped Cream icing can be made by using simply Heavy Whipping Cream and Conf Sugar,, The Rec is as

Follows..

  1 Cup heavy Whipping Cream

  1/2 Cup Conf Sugar

3 Tbspn Hershey Unsweetened cocoa powder

 **1 packet Instant pudding mix-- Optional

 

Take a bigger bowl and keep some ice cubes in that.. Over the cubes place anr bowl. Take one cup cream and add sugar, cocoa powder and Pudding mix( if needed )... and beat with electric mixer on medium till soft peaks are on the blade. The icing is ready. 

 

The cake recipe makes 2-9inch cakes. The Frosting recipe is for 1 small oval cake shown in the pic. Double the recipe if you have 9inch or bigger cakes.

HERSHEY'S "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate Cake--in my Kitchen

 Hello Sweeties!!!! Sorry for the long absence, but so many things have happened in the past one month that it seems like a year has gone by in just 30 days.

Family emergencies are not welcome; but cannot be avoided, so just say all went wrong before; then by Gods grace all problems were sorted  with time as medicine. 

Today, I bring to you a very simple cake from Hershey's. This cake at one point scared the wits out of me with Too much liquid and too less flour, but the end result was very much pleasing. 

Thanks to my cousin "S" who shared with me the Hershey's Coffee cake with choc frosting, since kids could not eat that cake, I  was compelled to attempt this cake as a kid friendly version.

I skipped the frosting this time and decorated with simple powdered sugar.

Source

You will need; 

2 cups sugar

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Heat Oven to 350 Degrees F. Grease (2)9Inch pans.

In the bowl of the stand mixer, add the sugar, flour, baling soda. baking powder, salt, eggs and milk. Beat for 2 mins on medium and stir in the  boiling water. Batter will be THIN. Pour the batter in the greased pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Doodhi Halwa-BottleGourd Halwa

Hello Sweeties!!!! Sorry for being MIA, but life at time takes over and you just go with its flow. To make up for that, I bring to you some sweetness and some health from my kitchen to yours. 

Make this Doodhi halwa to please some sweet craving without missing on the health. Except the vegetable, there is nothing that can be termed healthy, but who cares, as long its something sweet and something tasty.

You will need;
1 Small Bottle Gourd/Doodhi- Skin peeled and grated
Approx 2.5 cups
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tbspn Ghee/clarified Butter
1.5 cups sugar
1 Tspn elaichi/Cardamom powder
Nuts to garnish

In a heavy bottom pan, heat the ghee, add the grated doodhi, cream and let cook over medium/low heat. Stir in between, keep cooking for 10-15 mins, taking care that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan. 

After it gets cooked, the cream should have evaporated by now; add the sugar and the elaichi powder and let cook again till the sugar dissolves and the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. The halwa is done, garnish with nuts. I completely forgot about it, but no issues, the halwa was tasty without any. 

Desserts like gajar and doodhi halwa are marriages made in heaven when served with hot halwa and cold vanilla ice cream. Do try this combo and update me via comments or FB.