Chocolate sugar cookies - Your new best friend

The ultimate comfort food, these cookies are super easy to make and serve as the perfect accompaniment for the Sunday afternoon coffee. They are your midnight hot cocoa’s soul mate providing you the warmth and love you need on those insomniac nights. When crumbled, they make the plain old vanilla ice cream seem like a hot shot dessert in the hotel downtown.

What you need :

1/2 cup butter (softened)

½ cup sugar. (You can just use plain sugar or cut it down to quarter cup plain sugar and quarter cup soft brown sugar, this will add fudgy-ness to your cookies and not making it too sweet)

1 egg

1/2 cup good quality cocoa

2 cups all purpose flour, sift before measuring

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Vanilla extract

Cookie cutters

What you need to do:

Cream butter; add sugar (If you’re using white+brown, always the white first then the brown) gradually, and continue to beat until light and fluffy.

Blend in egg, Flour, cocoa and the baking powder and soda. The dough has to be firm and ball-able; that is it should be firm enough to make into a ball. If it’s not, add more flour. Make the dough into fat but flat plates with your hand it might work to split the dough into half and make the plates

Chill dough for a minimum of 1 hour or even upto a couple of more hours. Wrap it in cling film or drop it into a Ziploc bag.

Once out of the fridge. Roll out on floured board to 1/4-inch thickness or till a point they don’t tear, Cut with cookie cutters and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 375deg; for 15 minutes or till the corners become slightly brown. Roll the remaining dough back into a ball and roll and cut again.

Allow to cool before you eat. It is a good idea to egg wash the cookies before baking, to do this, with a brush give the cut unbaked cookies a layer of egg white.

Makes about 3 to 4 dozen chocolate cookies. (YAY!)

Punjabi Chole made eaaaaaaasyyy!

Punjabi chole is something each of us have grown up with, samosa channa at the neighborhood chat shop, channa bhatura when we go out with family ( Pocket money always makes us settle for channa samosa :P ) Bread chole when there is leftover chole from last nights family get-together or just bowls of it eaten at midnight watching a movie, the humble chickpea and you go back a long way. Either with Chappati, Rice, Bread, Naan, Poori or plain this multi-tasker is a sure to learn when expanding your culinary knowledge. This recipe is easy to make and is sure to impress the husband,boyfriend,mother,mother in law or even just yourself! :)

What you need :

Kabuli chana/Chickpeas - 200 gms (Soak the channa overnight or for 6 hrs and pressure cook with salt till done)
Salt to taste
Onions - 2 big, finely chopped
Tomatoes - 2 medium/1 large, finely chopped
Green chilli - 1,finely chopped
Ginger chopped - 1 tbsp

Garlic – 2 cloves finely chopped
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Everest Chole masala - 2 tbsp (I just use how much ever I feel is right, Try 2tbsp, if you think you need more, please go ahead!!)
Coriander leaves - roughly chopped
Kasuri methi - 1 tbsp
garam masala - 1 tbsp
Oil – as needed

What you need to do :

In a frying pan add the Garlic, green chilli and ginger, fry for a minute till the pungency hits your nostrils.

Add the onion-tomato (Fry onions in a little oil till brown, add the tomatoes and fry till mushy. Let it cool, grind to a smooth paste) paste and fry for 2 minutes.

Add red chilli powder, coriander powder and chole masala and mix for another 1- 2 minutes
When everything gets mixed well, and the fresh smell of the onion garlic has faded away, Add the cooked channa and mix well. Let it boil, check the salt.

Add coriander leaves and kasuri methi and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Just before switching off, add the garam masala and and let it boil.

Alternatively you could also add this in the beginning with all the other spices.

Serves 3-4

My very own "Nutty" Noodles

When you are in the mood for something special yet easy to make, Something wholesome yet a guilty pleasure, Something fast yet something tasty this easy to make, energy packed noodles comes as a perfect solution to make you happy in a jiffy

What you need:

Noodles (Hakka) - 1 packet. Either egg or plain.

Spring onions- 1 bunch

Coriander – A handful

Cashew nuts (chopped) – A small handful

Peanuts (skinned and split) – A small handful

Chilli Oil – 1 tbsp ( If you don’t have chilly oil, just heat normal cooking oil and drop a split chilli into it and keep closed for about half hour till the spices get infused in the oil. Either take the chilli out or just leave it there)

Tobasco/Capsico sauce – 1 tbsp

Juice of half a small lemon

A small knob of butter

Salt – As needed

Pepper- As needed

Paprika/Chilli powder- As needed

What you need to do:

In a frying pan, put the knob of butter and add a pinch of salt ( or more if you think you need it), Pepper, Paprika chilli powder. When the butter just starts boiling, Add the cashew nuts and the peanuts and stir around till they brown. Take the spiced nuts out of the pan and spread them on a plate and let them cool down

Boil the noodles and drain them according to package instructions. Once drained, Put the noodles in a mixing bowl and toss them around with Chilli Oil and the Tobasco/ Capsico sauce. I use Capsico because the flavours are more intense without actually being too spicy

In the frying pan now, Add a little chilly oil and fry the chopped onions of the spring onions till golden, crisp and sticky. Add a little salt and sugar to the onions so they caramelize. Put off the flame and add the chopped green parts of the spring onions, give it a little stir and make it sit

To the noodles in the mixing bowl, now add the onions, the spiced nuts, Coarsely chopped coriander and squeeze about half a lemon and toss around. Taste to check salt and pepper it is most likely that you might want to add a little more seasoning at this point. If so, Add and toss around. For tossing around noodles, use your fingers because it is the most effective and it prevents the noodles from breaking.

Serve in a bowl with the rest of the nuts sprinkled on top!

Bon appetite!

(This recipe serves one and takes about 15 mins to make, Easy eh? J )

Chocó-Fudge cake

This cake in all its glory serves as the best birthday cake you can make for a loved one. It’s easy to make and is the perfect “starter cake”. This recipe is the slightly fiddled version of a couple of cakes I’ve done before. This is incredibly chocolaty but far from rich. Worry not, Read on!

What you need:

Flour- 1 and a half cups

Sugar (powdered) – 2 cups

Good quality cocoa – Half a cup

Butter (unsalted and softened) – 200gms

Fresh curd – Half a cup

Eggs- 3

Baking powder – 1 spoon

Baking soda- Half a spoon

Good quality Vanilla Extract – 1 spoon

Water – half cup

For the icing

Unsalted butter- 75gms

Best quality dark chocolate – 150gms

Icing sugar- one cup

Sour cream- 100 ml

Good quality vanilla extract- 1 spoon

Golden syrup(thickened sugar syrup) -1 spoon

What to do:

For the Fudge

Heat the water, up to a point where the water is warm, not boiling. Add in half a cup of sugar spoon by spoon dissolving each spoon before adding the other. Once the sugar is done, Add half a cup of cocoa power the same way. After everything is dissolved you’ll find yourself with a smooth slightly runny paste of cocoa. Put this mixture back on the stove at a low heat and keep stirring till the mixture thickens up but doesn’t stiffen.

For the cake

In a cup, add the curd and the baking powder and soda mix and keep aside. This will broth up and become fluffy.

Mix together the one and a half cup of sugar and the butter

Add the eggs one by one to the butter and sugar and mix well using a ladle

Once the eggs are mixed in with the butter and sugar, slowly sift in the flour and mix

To this mixture now, add the vanilla essence and mix well.

Add the curd and baking power mixture and the fudge to this flour batter and beat till you get one smooth paste

Grease your cake tin and pour in the batter

Bake in a preheated oven at 180degree Celsius for about 40-45 mins

Keep an eye on the cake after the first half hour and to check if the cake is cooked poke with a tooth pick, if the toothpick comes out clean it is a sign to look out for.

Remove the cakes from the oven and let it cool for about 15-20 mins before turning them out. Do not worry about any cracks as it can be covered up with the icing

For the Icing

To make this icing, melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water.

While the chocolate and butter are cooling a little, sieve the icing sugar into another bowl.

Add the golden syrup to the cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the sour cream and vanilla and then when all this is combined whisk in the sieved icing sugar. When you are done you might need to add more boiling water, or icing sugar depending on how thick or runny you want the icing to be

Once you are done with the cake and the icing, place the cake on the rack, cake stand or plate and cover with icing, alternatively you might consider cutting the cake horizontally with a very sharp knife and spreading icing in-between. I personally think it is a tedious process and like the thick icing on top. Do not worry about the icing not being completely smooth on the cake once spread. The unevenness of the icing only adds to the personal touch to the cake

Now that the cake is covered in icing, You might want to decorate them with chocolate chips, Chocolate shavings, or nothing at all will do!

Bon appetite!

(This recipe feeds 10-12 people one slice each, or just one very greedy person!!)

Preparation time – 20-30 mins

Baking time- 40- 45 mins

Hot Szechuan Maggi Noodles

This is perfect for those days when the “maggi” mood strikes and you don’t feel like eating the plain old masala maggi. And variety is the spice of life, don’t you think?

What you need:

Maggi/ Any other instant noodles - One packet ( Anything except tomato, Preferably masala)

Water – One cup

Onion- 1 (small)

Garlic – 3 cloves

Dark Soy sauce – 2 Tbsp

Green Chilli Sauce – 1Tbsp

Oil – 1 Tbsp ( Any type)

Salt- a pinch

What to do:

Chop the onion into long thin slices ( This is how I like it, You can chop it into whatever type you are comfortable with), Crush the garlic and Chop into small peices

In a pan, pour the oil and before the oil gets too hot, Add the garlic and sauté. Add a pinch of salt so that the garlic doesn’t stick to the pan.

Once the garlic is brown, Add the onions and fry till it is translucent. At this stage, at a high flame, Add the Soy Sauce and the Chilli Sauce and put off the flame once you have mixed it all together. This should take about 5 seconds to do the Adding-Mixing process. You have to work fast.

Now that the sauce is ready, Cook the maggi according to the packet instructions.

Put the cooked maggi in a bowl and top it up with the onion garlic sauce and serve hot

Bon Appetite

(this recipe serves one; You can increase the proportion sizes to serve more people!)

Hot Jam French Toast

This is perfect for those mornings when you have slightly more time at hand and you are in a mood to indulge without actually piling up the calories. This is also a variant of Nigella’s Doughnut French toast.

What you need:

Bread, Sliced (White/brown) without the crust – 4 ; Preferably a day old, because they absorb more.

Egg – 1

Jam/Fruit preserve – 4 tablespoons. I usually prefer strawberry or mixed fruit. Blueberry might be an interesting option; maybe you should try it out!

Sugar (Powdered) - 2 tablespoon

Vanilla essence- 1 teaspoon

Milk- 2 tablespoon

What to do:

Over each piece of bread, Spread the jam and make into a sandwich. With slightly damp hands press the two pieces together so they stick to each other, make two of these

In a shallow bowl bre

ak the egg and whisk with a fork, till it becomes slightly homogeneous. Add the sugar and mix till it dissolves. Follow that with the vanilla and milk.

Dip the sandwiches in the egg mixture till the bread becomes eggy

Melt some unsalted butter( about quarter of a spoon) on a hot tawa and transfer the eggy bread on to it. If there is any egg and milk left in the bowl, Pour it over the egg at this point of time.

Once one side is brown, turn it over. I usually add a little sugar once one side is half brown before i turn it over again. This helps the bread to become extra caramelly and brown. Once both sides are cooked, slide on the plate and sprinkle some sugar on top (Only do this if your feeling realllllllllyyy indulgent! J )

You can eat it just like it is, Or top it up with some freshly cut strawberry and whipped cream. A light frothy Coffee completes the breakfast !

Bon Appetite!

(This recipe feeds one ; You can however, add one more tier to the sandwich and make it extra indulgent. Though it is not exxaaaactly adviced!! )