Thursday, January 19, 2012

Lemon meringue cupcakes

Lemon meringue cupcakes
Ingredients:


3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons (about 3 tablespoons), plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
 
Preparation:

step 1
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in zest and vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk and lemon juice, and beating until just combined after each.

step 2
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

step 3
When the cupcakes have cooled, spread 1 tablespoon of lemon curd (recipe below) on top or pipe into center of cupcake. Then pipe the seven minute frosting (recipe below) on top and brown the frosting using your hand held kitchen torch or place under broiler briefly to brown tops. Serve immediately!

step 4
Lemon Curd
8 large egg yolks
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
1 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

Combine yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a heavy-bottom saucepan; whisk to combine. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (be sure to scrape the sides of the pan), until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat. Add salt and butter, one piece at a time, stirring until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled and set, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

step 5
Seven Minute Frosting
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
2 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place all ingredients, except vanilla, in top of a double boiler. Place pan over boiling water, being sure that boiling water does not touch the bottom of the top pan. Beat constantly on high speed with electric mixer for 7 minutes. Remove from heat and beat in vanilla. 

Chicken kathi rolls

Chicken kathi rolls
Ingredients:

3/4 cup white chapati flour
2 tbsp besan ( chana daal flour)
1 tsp oil
1/4 cup+ milk
salt and red chilly powder for taste
canola oil for stir frying parathas
2 eggs ( I used 2-3 tbsp for my 2 parathas the rest I used for wheat parathas)

Ingredients for sweet chilly chicken( serves 3):
2 butterfly chicken breasts (around 400 gm)
1 green pepper
2 tbsp sweet chilly sauce
2 tsp roasted cumin powder
1 tsp red chilly paste ( sambal olek)
3.5 tbsp oil
salt as per taste
chopped green chillies optional
1/4 onion

To serve:
lettuce and tomato salad
sliced red onion (optional)
soup (optional)
 
Preparation:

Mix both the flours in a medium bowl. Add oil, salt and red chilly powder. Knead dough with milk. Add more milk little by little as required till you get a smooth dough. Cover it and let it sit for a while till you work on the sweet chilly chicken.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Cut chicken breast, green pepper and onion of even size. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Saute chicken pieces until nicely cooked. Remove in a bowl and reserve. Heat the remaining oil and stir fry onion and green pepper. When soft, add the chicken pieces, salt, red chilly paste, cumin powder and sweet chilly sauce. Remove from heat. Transfer the sweet and spicy chicken to a oven safe bowl and set it in oven to keep warm till you make parathas.
Whisk eggs with 1/4 tsp salt in a bowl. Heat a griddle. Make gluten free chapatti by following the directions here. Cook chapatti on one side on a medium heat. Flip over and cook little bit on the other side. Flip the chapatti again. Put two spoonfuls of whisked egg on the half cooked side of chapatti. Spread the egg with a spoon. Flip the paratha. Drizzle 2 tsp of oil around the paratha. Remove the egg washed paratha in a serving plate. Cook the next one in the same way. Now, in the middle of the paratha put sweet and spicy chicken and some sliced red onion (optional).
Roll and stick it with a toothpick. Serve with salad and soup as a healthy filling brunch. 

Tortilla with meat & chicken fillings

Tortilla with meat & chicken fillings
Ingredients:


4 pieces of instant tortilla (available in supermarkets)
1/4 red capsicum *
1/4 yellow capsicum *
1/4 green capsicum *
2 chicken sausage *
* sliced lengthwise about 1/2 inch
1/2 tomato #
1 onion #
200 gm chicken meat #
# diced
2 cloves garlic - chopped
3 tbs chilli paste
50 gm raisins (Optional)
1 tbs mayonaise
1/2 tbs curry powder
1/2 tbs coriander
1/4 cup water
salt to taste
pinch of sugar
2 tbs olive oil
 
Preparation:

step 1
For Filling
Heat oil in pan add onion and garlic till fragrant. Put in chilli paste, curry & coriander powder. Add water and stir well.

step 2
Add sausage, chicken meat and all vegetables, put in water. Stir well on slow fire.

step 3
Lastly, put in mayonaise and raisins & add salt & sugar.

step 4
Fill tortilla with fillings and roll. The tortilla can be eaten as it is or can be grilled. Can be served with chilli sauce.