Indian Strawberry Cheesecake

I have drooled over cheesecake recipes and pictures on various Food channels and blogs, but without much hopes of ever getting to make one as they mostly call for cream cheese and other stuff quite out of reach for the Indian audience.
It was during one boring blog hunting session that I chanced upon Nandita's Blog and came across this recipe for an Indianised cheesecake.
It looked very simple to recreate and when we had a couple of friends over for dinner , I set out to make this (which feels kind of foolish on after thought as I should have first tested it out on my very own darling guinea pigs).
The fact that they asked for seconds was a saving grace.

I followed Nandita's recipe to a tee,except that I used fresh strawberries and did not get any blueberry jam to top it with.

Cheesecake standing tall!!!

Recipe Source: Saffron Trail

Keep a large strainer covered with a folded muslin cloth over a vessel. Once the yogurt is set well, turn in into the muslin covered strainer. Twist the muslin cloth and clip / tie it at the mouth. If the weather in your area is very hot, keep the strainer with yogurt over a vessel in the refrigerator for 5-6 hours until all the water (whey) is drained out. If you are not making the cheesecake immediately, store this thick block of curd in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Use within 24 hours so that it does not turn sour.
You can also use store bought yogurt like Nestle Dahi. You will need 2 tubs of 400 mg and one 200 mg tub to get a packed cup of hung yogurt.

Ingredients200 gm Parle G
3 tbsp melted butter 250 gm frozen strawberries (do not thaw) {I used 250 grams of Fresh one's}
1/2 cup sugar (add more if your strawberries are a tad sour, like mine were)

1 cup hung curd
1 cup cream

1 tbsp gelatin
4 tbsp water
2-3 tbsp Blueberry jam for topping (Coudnt get my hands on any then, have found them now, will try with this and post a pic)

Other equipment 
An 8-9" cake tin
Cling film
or
an 8" springform pan

Directions:
In a food processor, pulse the biscuits into coarse powder and mix in the melted butter well into it. (I powdered the biscuits in a ZipLock bag with a roller pin. Crushed it coarsely to my hearts content.)
Take a cake tin 8-9" diameter, line it with a large sheet of cling film big enough to cover the sides and come well out of the brim.(did not cover with cling film. We just cut the pieces directly out of the tin and served.)

Put in the biscuit-butter mix into the pan lined with film. Spread evenly and press well with heavy object such as mortar. Put in the freezer for 20 min or so to set.


Puree the strawberries and sugar together in a mixer to get a sorbet kind of mixture. Remove into a large bowl and keep aside.

Add the hung curd and cream, blend well to make a smooth mixture. Pour it into the bowl containing strawberry sorbet, mix them well with a wooden spoon.

Add 4 tbsp of water in the gelatin in a small heat resistant cup. Using a pair of tongs, hold the cup on the surface of water boiling in a pan. Stir the gelatin mix with a spoon continuously to get a clear liquid.

Pour the gelatin mix slowly into the strawberry mixture, stirring continuously.

Remove the set crust from the freezer and pour the strawberry mixture onto the set biscuit base.

Cover and put in the fridge to set overnight.

Come morning, rush to your fridge with a spoon in hand , and in true Nigella style devour it straight out of the pan.

Perfect home made French Fries

Though the rain continues to elude Bangalore that should be no excuse to keep away from rain time snacks like Bajjis,pakoras and French fries.

Nowadays there are very many frozen varieties available in the market, but when you have a toddler at home you can never stop worrying about all that goes into their mouths(i.e. with your knowledge, if you know what I'm saying)
And they just love potatoe dont they!! My 2 year old just loves potato roast, french fries and anything that has potato in it (are eating habits inherited too? I wonder).
So to enjoy a guilt free potatoe snack with your entire family this one bags the fries,I mean prize :).

Home Made French Fires:
Recipe: Cookery show on DD Malayalam

Ingredients:

Potatoes 3-4
Salt - 1tsp (or as required)
Oil for frying
Water to boil the potatoes

Method:

Cut the potatoes into wedges not too thick or thin (as in the pics above).
Wash them well after they are cut as well to remove most of the starch content. This yields crispier fries.
Boil enough water in a wide mouthed vessel to immerse the entire set of fries. Smaller the vessel more batches you will have to make, as im lazy i prefer to get it over with at one shot.
Add salt.
Put the potatoe wedges into the boiling water and cook for 4-5 mins (depending on the thickness of your fries) . Keep checking and remove them once they are 3/4th cooked or just before they are cooked fully.

Drain them on a kitchen towel and try to remove as much moisture as possible.
Lay them in a single layer and microwave on high for roughly 2 mins to remove water content if any (optional).
Now take a kadai and add sufficient oil to deep fry the potatoes.
Keep on medium heat and fry till golden brown.
Drain them on kitchen paper and sprinkle salt while still hot (so that it sticks).
Enjoy with your favourite dips!!!!
Hopefully will feature some of my dips here too!!!

Eggless No Bake Biscuit Brownies

There are many comfort foods, but among them the one that sits that on top is chocolate.
Nothing like it , be it a cup of hot steaming chocolate milk or a deliciously sinful brownie.
And if there is no whisking ,greasing and baking involved in making one? There is nothing to beat that then.
This is one such recipe I found in Edible garden and I just couldn't resist.
It was very easy and promises to live up to any chocoholics aspirations...
I followed her instructions to the tee.
Only as i did not have any hazelnuts (or know where to get them) ,I used cachewnuts.

They look like chunky rocky roads.

Ingredients:
20-25 Marie biscuits
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup roasted nut of choice
2 tsp sugar
1/2 of a 400gm tin condensed milk

How I Made It:

1. Break the biscuits into fours and powder coarsely. I put the biscuits in a ziplock bag and pounded them with a roller. (Works well a therapy too :) )
3. Add the cocoa powder to this and mix well.
4. Add the sugar to this mixture and mix again. If you prefer mildly sweet brownies, you can omit this but I found the sweetness level perfect with 2 tsp sugar.
5. Dry-roast any nut of choice and let it cool.Roughly 1/4 cup should do.
6. Chop it up coarsely and add to the mixture. Mix well.
7. Add half a tin of condensed milk to this mixture. Feel free to lick up the remaining condensed milk sticking to the tin!
8. Mix well with a sturdy spoon. I would advice against using a whisk at this stage because the mixture will be very very thick and refuse to cooperate. Show it who's boss! Mix well until all the powdery bits are combined with the wet ingredients.
9. Line a plate, pie dish, or baking tray with butter paper (or just great with some butter) and transfer the mixture to it. Press firmly with wet fingertips until the mixture is uniformly spread.
10. Refrigerate atleast for 4 hours or overnight if possible else you might get more fudgy brownies that won't hold its shape when you cut it. 
If you refrigerate longer, then they can be cut into perfect squares and taste delicious.

Perfect with some Vanilla Ice Cream as well. Drizzle in some Dulce De Leche and You're in heaven!!

Dulce De Leche

I have seen many a blogger go ga ga over this in the blogosphere.

Basically it is a sweet prepared by slowly heating sweetened milk to create a product that derives its taste from caramelised sugar. Literally translated, it means "candy of milk" or "candy [made] of milk", "milk candy", or "milk jam"

So i too set out to try it and find out what all the noise was about.

Frankly speaking I did not find it to be anything to be over excited about, well its nice ,in its own way , but will I be making it again? Not any time soon me thinks.

It tasted like what it was i.e. condensed milk that has been solidifed and I would rather lick a spoon of milkmaid than munch on this. Not that I have anything against it.

Having said that I was now the proud owner of a jar full of this stuff without a clue as to what to do with it.

How i went about it:

1)I filled my pressure cooker with water.

2)Placed a can of Amul Mithai Mate in the lying down position (not standing up) so that it half submerged in water.

3)Closed the lid(with the gasket),and on a high flame, when the steam comes place the weight and after the first whistle, remove the weight and lower the flame to simmer.

5)Let it simmer for 40-45 mins. (the longer you steam it for the thicker and richer will be the colour).

6)Wait till it cools down to room temperature and then open it and use it however you like.

I found a couple of brownie recipes that called for the inclusion of eggs and I wasnt too keen on that.

The other day it so happened that after a lazy Saturday lunch, i wanted something sweet (as usual) and there was nothing at home!

Opened the fridge , glanced at the assorted(read crowded) stuff inside, nothing caught the eye, was just about to close the door when I chanced upon the jar sitting neglected in a corner and hoping to be picked.

I thought why not, I want something (anything, other than plain sugar) sweet and this is sweet.

So i took a spoonful, plopped down on the sofa, with "The Big Bang Theory" for company (I just love these guys, they are so damn funny) and started licking it.

I was halfway through , and realized that I was not enjoying this very much.

I wanted to dress it up a little, so I took a Marie biscuit, spread some of this stuff on it ,placed another biscuit on top and Viola there was a dulce de Leche Marie sandwich.

Which was actually pretty impressive.

If you have some chocolate cake handy, you can place a nice thin layer of it on top of the DDL and make your own easy biscuit pudding.

Quinelle of the Leche resting atop a stack of biscuits

A tasty mountain,a browny spotted in the vicinity.