EGG ROLLS

Crispy golden rolls with delicious filling...dipped in spicy-sweet thai sauce...ahh! Even the thought of it is definitely mouth watering..!!!! I din't miss out to take a pic, since i was very proud with the EGG-ROLLS i made.Looks good doesn't it?:)

It does require some patience to make it...but the end result makes you feel like a celebrity chef(or at least near ;-))

To give an idea about it.."EGG ROLLS" doesn't mean it has only egg and some vegetables as the filling(that's what i always thought until i tried making it).It is an interesting blend of many ingredients that make it quite appetizing.

Egg rolls are the heftier cousins of Spring rolls.The only difficulty as such ,would be the process of rolling it and frying it to perfection without burning it or under cooking it.

There are many versions with ingredients like bean sprouts,rice noodles,mushrooms,beef,pork.eggs etc..

In my version i have used just some common ingredients.ill explain the procedure..keeping it as short as possible.

1)first make the filling-

- Stir fry some minced chicken with some onion,oyster sauce, soy sauce.keep aside.

-next stir fry some diced onions,crushed garlic or garlic powder,then add in some shredded cabbage,carrot add some pepper,salt, soy sauce,some vegetable vinegar if you don't have rice wine.

-Mix in the meat mixture and check for seasoning.

2)Once the mixture has cooled down a bit,start filling it inside the egg roll dough.

Buy some ready made egg roll wrappers(its a wheat based dough which is heavier than the rice based used for spring rolls).It would be square or rectangle sheets of dough,which are available in packets.

One very important tip is once you open the packet keep the dough sheet covered with a towel so that it doesn't dry out.

4)To form the rolls.

-make some egg wash with an egg and some milk or water.apply it on all the four sides.You can also use some cornflour and water if you don't have eggs at home.

-place the sheet with a pointed side towards you, place some filling near the bottom corner and fold it off like an envelop,the bottom fold first, then the side folds.

Roll it and seal it off at the last edge with some more egg wash.

5)Deep fry the egg rolls till golden brown and drain it into a paper towel.

6) I served it with some sweet and spicy Thai sauce...cream cheese with some spring onion works well too..

Tempting, Delicious, gorgeously presentable and worth all the effort....

I present to you...Egg Rolls!

Layerd Icecream cake with butterscotch sauce.

Tastes like icecream ,but in the form of a cake with layers..guess what?

yup..ICECREAM CAKE!:)

Who doesn't like ice-cream...and who doesn't like cake?If you can get both as ur birthday cake or as part of a celebration? yum! right.

Well...the best part about this cake is, you can customize the layers according to the person's or family's liking and no baking involved.. obviously,its icecream!

It is definitely worth all the effort..specially coz it looks and tastes like the way you want :)

Just make sure you get all the ingredients before hand.There are many celebrities in this recipe

my favorite would be the Butter scotch sauce;-)...I like calling it my dessert queen!

The butterscotch sauce tastes simply beyond words and almost everyone would like its flavor.It has become one of my trade marks coz i use it with anything and everything.

It can be used as a fondue dip,with fruits as dipping, with plain cakes, mashmellows, biscuits, icecream , even drizzle it over a milk shake, custard or even on plain bread..the options are endless....

To make it,

1)Just heat some butter,golden syrup,white sugar and brown sugar

2)When its all melted and mixed together add in the fresh cream.

3)Once its merged and bubbling away,add some vanilla essence.

4)Transfer it to another bowl and let it cool down.

Golden syrup and brown sugar is available in most of the supermarkets..once i made it without the golden syrup.Its was not bad though. i guess its the brown sugar and vanilla essence that makes all the difference.

To make the icecream cake,its important to get a SPRINGFORM PAN. It comes in small,medium and large sizes.It is like a cake tin which has a separate-able base,which can be removed by loosening the clutch it has on the sides.It can be very useful in baking cakes or even puddings.

So to make the cake,

1)Get a sponge cake base or you can even used crushed cookies mixed with butter and press to the base of the spring-form pan to make the base of the cake.

2)add a layer of your favorite icecream..plain vanilla will do fine.I used praline and cream.

3)next layer would be some oreo cookies or nuts or fruits or even another layer of sponge cake or chocolate cake.

4)Another layer of icecream, a diffrent flavor or the same one.

5)I topped it up with some cut peaches and a pine apple ring in the middle.(u can top it up with crushed oreo cookies or chocolate shavings.)

6)Its important to work fast since we are dealing with icecream and keep it to set in the fridge.

7)Loosen the clamp and transfer the cake to a cake stand with or without the cake tin base.

An important tip is to line the cake tin with some cling film,so that it doesn't stick to the sides and you can detach it out without much difficulty.

Lastly i drizzled it with some warmed butter scotch syrup just before cutting the cake(u can substitute with chocolate syrup too).

PURE BLISS INDEED!!!!!!

Pear in spicy wine bath....

Have you been in a situation where u had to cook up a dessert almost instantly and impress a guest who turned up unannounced? Well,...i like similar situations coz..it puts me under pressure,which is good sometimes;) and i end up making something from the ingredients present at home.

PEAR IN SPICY WINE BATH..was a revelation..and a savior in a situation like that.I got the idea from the internet of-course..along with my special touch;) it was a huge hit.

The simplicity of this dessert is surprising yet has an exotic complexity.

Its low fat,no butter,milk or eggs,..

just fruity, spicy-sweet and lil intoxicating may be;)

I do not know the exact measurements...an idea with my cooking instincts is usually a success.

So,to give you an idea...

1)make the spicy wine bath,by boiling some good quality red wine

2) some sugar(i prefer the brown one),

3)some spices like clove,star anise,pepper,cinnamon stick or cinnamon powder.

4)add the pear halves in to the boiling spicy wine bath

5)boil till the wine thickens and becomes like syrup.

6) The pears will become soft and brown.

Serve it hot with the wine syrup.I missed out to take a pic in the serving dish but i have the picture which i took in the boiling stage.It shows how the pears turned golden and heavenly....

Peach and cream...

I was very impressed when i came across the recipe for this dessert and tried out instantly.Its lovely to look at as well as simple compared to the end result.Its all about the right technique, and temperature.

a)All that is needed is,

-canned peach halves,
-the sugar water in the can,
-gelatin,
-milk and fresh cream(i used condensed milk instead),
-clig film.

b)-Just add dissolved gelatin to the water mixture by boiling it together(1) and also

to the heated condensed milk and milk mixture(2).

c)-Place a peach half in a bowl which is wraped in clig film,
-pour the (1) mixture and then the (2)mixture.

d)keep in the fridge to set and pull it out to the serving plate...

Healthy,yummy and cool....isnt it?

Tiramisu..the simple version....

That's Tiramisu..yea..i know it makes u think..high calorie!!! but my version is a low fat one and not at all the authentic way,yet it tastes reasonably good.

when i decide to cook something new,i always do a lot of research and collect various versions and combine ideas together and end up creating something in my comfort zone.So the good thing about it is,it makes you aware how the dish is supposed to be and how differently you can go about making it.

Of-course its not possible to change some very basic ingredients but some can be substituted,which might help to reduce the calories,use the ingredients that you already have or even cut down the cost.

In this case,to make it less complicated and of-course healthier,
1)- i used low fat cream cheese rather than mascopone cheese ,
2)-condensed milk instead of heavy cream and eggs.

3) The most important tip is to assemble the sponge fingers dipped in the coffee and coffee liqueur mixture and the custard(cheese+condensed milk+vanilla extract),in layers and keep it for at least few hours so that the flavors can intermingle.

4) To get that finished look just add some coca powder on top..but in my version i had some dark cooking chocolate,so i grated it on top.

My major flaw was that i couldn't get coffee liqueur,and used normal liqueur.So the intensity of coffee flavor was not good enough.Sounds pretty simple right...i am sure this can be pulled off by anyone..so..do give it a try and enjoy!!!!

Food is something, most of us take for granted..I sometimes wonder if there would be anyone who would have tasted all the available varieties of food in the world.It might sound like an Herculean task,but its one of the wishes in my wish list to taste all the different food possible in my life time.

For now, I am satisfied with the recent revelation i had on creating food and the blissfulness that comes with it.The artistic skills involved in the process of creating food is something to be experienced.

I am not a chef nor a food writer..anything related to food is like a hobby to me.I like trying out new recepies and its important that i cook from my heart and that would mean taking my own sweet time,space and enjoying every bit of the planning,execution and of course the self corrections.

Decently healthy,interesting, tasty cooking is what i enjoy and want to inculcate the most. 

My initial inclination was to cook desserts...i noticed that desserts bring an instant smile to anyone's face,and i felt proud to be able to do that.This was my drive to cook more and more desserts and spread sweetness to my family and friends.Later i found a liking towards appetisers..and followed by some main dishes from Indian, Thai ,Italian cuisines.

I started collecting recipes from anywhere possible....the internet,TV,Cookery books,friends and the best part was, i enjoyed collecting them and always added my own twist to it,either because all the ingredients were not available or i was keen to try substitutions and luckily the end result was always good enough.

Initially it never came across to me that i could take pictures of my creations.So, by the time i started taking pictures i left out many of my favorite experiments.Now too, i miss out some of them but still try to capture the precious moments.

It feels good to share my culinary creations...and i am glad i have decided to see if blogging works well with me..who knows..i might be of some help to someone :))