Tiramisu Recipe

Tiramisu is a fantastic dessert. I have read several recipes of varying degrees of difficulty in the last few years. The first time I made it, I used eggs and it was a complex process and I used mascarpone cheese. The next time I made the recipe, I decided to drop the eggs, since I was not comfortable with adding raw eggs to the dessert.

Thus far I had always made it using mascarpone cheese and the result had been light and fluffy and wonderful. I had a packet of cream cheese lying in my fridge a week ago and I was quite torn on how to use it. I thought about baking a cheesecake, but since I didn't have all the other required ingredients, I gave up on that idea and decided to try out my Tiramisu recipe, substituting the mascarpone with creamcheese. The end result was so delicious and decadent, that I think this is the recipe that I will stick to in the future.

So without much ado, here's the recipe. Note how simple and easy it is!!!

Ingredients
15-20 ladyfingers (use the hard ones which resemble cookies/biscuits, use the fresh baked ones which resemble angel cakes only if you cannot find the hard ones)
8 ounce cream cheese 
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1-1.5 cup confectioner's sugar (this can be adjusted to taste)
1 cup brewed coffee (you can either brew fresh coffee or use 2 scoops of instant coffee powder added to 8 ounces of hot water. Cool it to room temperature)
2 tbsp cocoa powder

Method
Whip the heavy whipping cream till the cream is stiff and peaks can be formed. Whip softened cream cheese till its creamy. Fold in the whipped cream into the beaten cream cheese. Add the sugar a little at a time and mix it all together. The resultant mixture should not be overwhelmingly sweet. Adjust the sugar based on how sweet you want your tiramisu to be. Dip the ladyfingers one at a time into the coffee solution. Do not soak it. Arrange a layer of these coffee dipped ladyfingers at the bottom of a rectangular serving dish. Spread half of the cream cheese mixture over this layer. Add the second layer of coffee dipped ladyfingers next. Top it with the remaining cream cheese mixture. Use a sieve to dust cocoa powder on top of the assembled layers. Chill this for 2-4 hours. Your tiramisu is ready!!! Sprinkle additional cocoa powder before serving.

Tips
The whisk, bowl and cream should be cold so that whipping is faster and the cream stays stiff upon whipping. The cream cheese needs to be brought to room temperature before whipping. This can be done by keep the cream cheese outside the fridge for about 30 mins. Confectioner's sugar has some cornflour and this stabilizes the cream cheese mixture in the absence of egg yolks.Taste the cream cheese mixture after adding 1 cup of sugar. You may need to add more than 1.5 cups if you want it to be sweeter. Some rum can also be added to the coffee concoction in which the ladyfingers are dipped.

This is goes to the Thanda Mela and the Monthly Mingle too.

Thanda Mela and Monthly Mingle

This is my first entry to the Thanda Mela and second one to the Monthly Mingle. I am submitting my Mango Ice Cream and Tiramisu recipes. Seems to be a great forum to exchange recipes! Hope to contribute more regularly to these and other such events.

Mango Kulfi/Ice Cream

The first time I ate homemade kulfi, I figured this was probably a very complicated recipe (ice creams just seemed to be something to be bought not made). A friend finally shared her recipe and it turned out to be a very simple. I made some changes to the recipe she provided to make it a healthier.

Recently, I decided to modify this recipe even further to create the mango ice cream/kulfi recipe. I made this ice cream for a party recently and it was a culinary triumph. Summer is the season for mangoes and this is one cool recipe for those hot days ahead.

Ingredients
4 white bread slices
1 can or 1.5 cups evaporated milk
1 can or 1 and 3/4th cups of sweetened condensed milk
1 pint of heavy whipping cream
1 cup of mango pulp
1 mango diced into bite sized pieces
1 tsp of Powdered Cardamom Powder.
1/4 cup of sliced almonds and pistachios (optional)

Method
Toast the bread lightly for about a minute or less on the stove or in the toaster. The bread should not change color. Cut off the edges of the bread. Once cooled the bread will become a bit harder and easier to grind down into  crumbs in the food processor or mixer. Whip the cream in another bowl till the cream is stiff and peaks can be formed by the whisk. In another bowl, mix together the condensed milk, evaporated milk, mango pulp, white bread crumbs, cardamom powder and whisk till all the components are blended well together. Fold in the whipped cream and then blend well to aerate the mixture. However, do not overmix after adding the whipped cream. Fold in the mango pieces and freeze this mixture.  After 4-5 hours, let this thaw a bit and again whip it and blend it well. Freeze again.

Tips
To whip up the cream, make sure the cream, the bowl and the whisk are all chilled.  This helps to whip up the cream faster. Do not over whisk else the cream can separate. Stop once the peaks can be formed. The mango pieces can be added when the ice cream is remixed before being frozen for the second time. The condensed milk quantity can be reduced or increased to adjust the sweetness of the icecream.

This is my first entry to the Thanda Mela and second one to the Monthly Mingle. I am submitting my Mango Ice Cream and Tiramisu recipes. Seems to be a great forum to exchange recipes! Hope to contribute more regularly to these and other such events.

Kolhapuri Misal Recipe - Phadtare Misal

This is a very popular recipe in Maharashtra. The city associated with this dish is Kolhapur. The misal from this region is spicy and delicious. The characteristic about misal from Kolhapur is the separate "cut/kat" or gravy that accompanies the misal. Bread is dipped into this gravy and eaten. This is a complete meal with brown mung, potato, gravy and bread.

I recently met my husband's aunt and had a chance to eat this delicacy after several years. I was very inspired by her and decided to try my hand at it. The recipe below is based on  a video I had seen where "Phadtare" misal recipe was demonstrated. This is a very popular misal joint in Kolhapur. I have adapted this recipe to serve 4-6 people.

Ingredients
For Potato Bhaji
1/2 red onion finely diced
2 medium potatoes boiled
1/8 tsp mustard seeds
1/8 tsp jeera seeds
1-2 green chillies to taste chopped
1/8 tsp turmeric
salt to taste (fine or regular salt)

For Matki Usal
2 tbsp oil
2 cups of sprouted matki/small brown mung
1/2 red onion finely diced
1/4 tomato finely diced
1 tsp dhana jeera powder (corriander-cumin powder)
1 tsp Bedgi chilli powder (this is mainly used for color)
1 tsp red chilli powder (or to taste)
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
2 cups hot water
salt to taste (coarse salt/"khade meeth")
1 tsp sugar

For the Misal "Kat" (Gravy)
1 tsp cumin
1 inch cinnamon piece
5 green cardamoms
2 big cardamoms (badi elaichi)
4 cloves
2 star anise
3 red chillies
1.5 cups of dessicated coconut grated (dry coconut)
6-7 garlic cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg -grated powder (use fresh instead of readymade powder)
1 inch ginger
1 red onion thinly sliced
1/2 tomato finely diced
1/8 tsp turmeric
1 tsp Bedgi chilli powder (red color again)
1 tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
salt to taste (coarse salt/"khade meeth")
salt to taste (regular fine salt)
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp oil
5 cups hot water

Method
To make the Potato Bhaji
Heat the oil. To this add the mustard and cumin seeds. Once you hear the mustard sputter, add the onions and fry till it turns light brown. Add the chillies and turmeric, stir this together, add the salt and the boiled potatoes. Stir and fry for another 2-3 mins. Set this aside. You now have the base or first layer of the misal.

To make the Matki Usal (brown mung bhaji)
Take 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Once its heated up, add the sprouted brown mung/matki to this. Stir fry it for a few minutes. Set aside.
In another pan, take 1 tbsp oil, to this add the onion and stir fry it. Once it turns pink and translucent, add the tomatoes to this. Fry this for a few more minutes. To this add the two chilli powders, dhana jeera powder and turmeric and stir. Add the hot water, the coarse salt, sugar and continue heating this mixture. Once it starts boiling, add the fried matki to this. This matki must be cooked till all the water evaporates and you are left with the matki bhaji.

To make the Misal Masala
Dry roast all the dry spices separately which is cumin, cinnamon, green cardamom seeds only, big cardamon seeds only (badi elaichi), cloves, and star anise. Roast the red chillies with a couple of drops of oil till they are crisp. The spices should not be over roasted or burnt. They should be roasted till you can start smelling the spice. Grind all these spices and chillies together till they are a fine powder. To this add the garlic, ginger, coconut, nutmeg and a little coarse salt. Grind this to a paste adding a little water at a time to facilitate the grinding process. The consistency of the paste should be like a chutney.

To make the Misal Gravy
Heat the oil, and add the onion. Fry this onion till translucent pink, starting to turn brown and add the tomatoes. Cook this for a few  minutes till the tomatoes soften. Add the Misal Masala made earlier, turmeric, both the chilli powders, coarse salt and a little sugar for taste. Stir fry this for 2-3 minutes and then add a little water to it and stir. Add the remaining water slowly and let it boil. This is the final gravy.

Ingredients - To assemble the misal
Potato Bhaji as described above
Matki Usal as described above
Misal Gravy as described above
Sliced white bread
Chopped onion
Finely chopped cilantro
Farsan which should consist of Papadi, Dal Muth, Shev and Gathiya
Lemon

Method - To assemble and serve the misal
First take a tablespoon of potato bhaji in a bowl. Next layer is the matki usal. Add about a tablespoon of matki usal over the potato bhaji. Then add the misal gravy. Top this with chopped onion, cilantro and the farsan mixture. Squeeze a wedge of lemon over this. Serve with a couple of slices of white bread. The potato bhaji and matki should be submerged in the gravy. Also serve a cup of gravy along with the assembled misal so it can be refilled as needed.

Tips
The misal gravy is supposed to be very watery, so add additional hot water to this if it is too thick after boiling. If coarse salt is not available, you can just use regular salt. Coarse salt is also known as Kosher salt. The Bedgi chilli powder can be substituted with Kashmiri chilli powder or any other chilli which brings out the red color but is not very hot. Misal is supposed to be spicy and hot, and the above recipe will turn out so. Adjust the chilli powder proportions to make it milder.

Whole Wheat Fruit and Nut Biscotti

This is one of our favorite cookies!! Since we enjoy this so much and so often, I thought that if there was a way to make this healthier, I should. So, I decided to subsitute the regular ingredients with healthier ones, and the end result was delicious.

Ingredients
Dry ingredients
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sliced blanched almonds
1/3 cup walnuts
1/3 cup pecans
1/4 cup cranberries
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

Wet ingredients
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence/ pure vanilla extract
1/2 a stick of butter (about 2 tsp) melted (optional)

Method
Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix together. In another bowl break the 3 eggs and whisk them. Add the vanilla essence and mix. Then add the melted butter. Now, slowly pour this egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix. Once you have added half the egg mixture, add the dry fruit and nutes. The resultant dough is a bit sticky.

Shape the dough into 2 logs approximately 10 x 3 inches long. Bake these two logs at 350° F for about 40 minutes. The logs will be light brown in color. Take these out onto a cooling rack and let it cool down for 10 minutes. Once the logs have cooled down sufficiently to handle, cut these into biscottis to the desired size. Generally about 1 X 3 inches in size. Place these back onto your baking sheet and bake them for about 10-20 minutes in the oven at 350° F.
Let the biscottis cool and enjoy! These biscottis are not as hard as the ones made with all purpose flour and remind me a lot of cake rusk.

Tips
Don't overmix the dough. Mix it just enough so that all the ingredients come together. Coat your hands with a little flour to work with the sticky dough to avoid getting your hands messy. The longer you bake the biscotti during the second baking, the harder it will get. Cut the logs into biscottis using a serrated knife to minimize crumbling and resultant crumbs.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

One of my favorites. This cake is so pretty. My mom used to bake this occasionally as a treat. I remember my first attempt at baking this cake several years ago. The pineapples got stuck to the base of the cake pan and had to be removed and placed back on to the cake. Though the cake tasted great, I was quite disheartened by the experience and didnt try to bake it again.

Anyway, fast forward several years and I found myself facing a pineapple can. Was I  ready to face the challeng? Did history repeat itself? Will I ever make it again? Stop biting your nails and read on.

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour/maida
1 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1tsp vanilla essence
3 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup pineapple syrup
1 can of tinned pineapple slices - cut one slice into bite size pieces
5-6 cherries (canned) or few cranberries

For the caramel
4 tsp sugar
1 tbsp water

Method
Sieve the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and soda together three times. Add the sugar to this flour mixture. Separate the egg yolks and white. Beat the egg white till its foamy and stiff. Add the vanilla to the the egg yolks and whisk it. Take the butter in a bowl, to this a little flour and sugar mixture. Alternate the flour with the egg yolks mixture. Once all the egg yolks have been incorporated, alternate the flour with the egg white. Do not over beat the batter and gently fold in the egg white. Once all the flour and eggs have been added, fold in the pineapple pieces. Add the pineapple syrup a little at a time so that the consistency of the batter is such that it falls easily when its is dropped from the ladle. 

To prepare the pan
This is an important step so that your pineapple slices don't end up sticking to the base. Grease the pan with butter, then cover the pan with a butter paper. Next pour some caramel syrup to cover the base of the paper lined pan. To make the caramel, heat the 4 tsps of sugar till its turns brown and caramelizes. Add half to one tbsp of water to thin it out. Arrange slices of pineapple around the base. Add the cherries/cranberries in the center of each pineapple slice. Pour the cake mixture over this. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 F.

Tips
Grease the pan well, do not skim on the butter else the pineapple slices will stick to the base. Peel the paper carefully away from the cake after removing it from the pan after it has cooled down a bit. If its too hot, the cake might crumble, but if the cake is too cool, the paper will tend to stick.