Biscotti

Biscotti is my daily snack, I have it in my kitchen at all time for my craving teeth. I know many of you know how to made it but it's just a sharing as I didn't bake and blog much recently. This is a recipe from James Martin. I've been using his recipe for many years as my snack or gift for friends. I find homemade biscotti is always richer because we could add any nuts as we like and the quantity of nuts added will not stingy at all. The nuts I like the most is Almond, Hazelnut and Pistachio. Other than nuts, I find that adding some lemon zest into the mixture taste really good. I used food processor to make the mixture, it's really a simple snack to make and nice to crave!

Recipe of James Martin (Desserts):

250g plain flour
125g caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 medium eggs, lightly beaten
1 lemon zest
75g shelled pistachio nuts
50g whole blanched almonds
50g shelled hazelnut

1. Toast the shelled nuts in the preheated oven at 100'C for about 15 minutes.
2. Mix the flour, sugar, lemon zest and baking powder in a large bowl (I mix the ingredients in a food processor). Add half the beaten eggs and mix well, then add half of what's left and mix again. Now add the last quarter a little bit at a time until the dough takes shape but isn't too wet (you may not need to use all of the eggs). Add the toasted nuts and mix well.
3. Divide the dough into six, roll into sausage shapes and place on the lined baking tray (wetting your hands before rolling these cut helps to prevent the dough sticking). Lightly flatten the doughs.
4. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave for 10 minutes to cool and firm up.
5. Using a serrated knife, cut the biscotti on an angle into slice. Lay the slices on the baking trays. Return to the oven and cook for 8 minutes, then turn the slices over and cook for a further 10-15 minutes or until a pale golden colour. Cool on wire racks, then store in airtight jars.

Dates Kheer

A healthy and delicious kheer with dates. To make a sugar free dessert, you can actually do with out adding sugar too, not to forget the natural sugar in the dates. I have added sugar since I made it when I had guests at home. This is a very easy recipe. Its almost like a dates milkshake transformed into a kheer. And it sure makes a rich dessert. No soaking required if using soft dates.

Ingredients
Dates deseeded - 100 gms/20 nos
Milk - 1 litre
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder -1 tspn
Ghee 1 tblspn
few cashew nuts to garnish

Method
Soak the dates in a cup of hot milk (from the 1 lite) for an hour. Grind to fine paste. If you would like to bite into tiny pieces of dates, you can make a coarse paste. Boil the remaining milk. When it comes to boil, simmer for few minutes in low flame. Stir in the ground dates and simmer till it
blends well. Add sugar and continue cooking till the sugar is well dissolved and kheer thickens. Add cardamom powder and remove from fire. Roast the cashew nuts in ghee and sprinkle on the kheer. You can also roast some finely chopped dates in ghee and add as garnish in addition to nuts. Serve warm or chilled.

I am sending the bowl of kheer to Srivalli's Mithai Mela.

Carrot & Mango Milkshake

This recipe is adapted from Sharmi's blog. I added mango pieces to make the shake even more delicious.

Ingredients:
Grated Carrots-3
Ripe Mango(peeled and chopped)-1/4 cup(can add more)
Milk-3 cups
Sugar-2 tbsp
Almonds-12(optional)

Method:
Saute carrots for about 8 minutes. Add 1 or 2 tbsp of milk while sauteing to prevent the carrots from sticking to the pan.
Let it cool.
Blend it with sugar, almonds, 1/2 cup milk and chopped mango to a smooth paste.
Add rest of the milk and stir. Serve chilled.

Rush in your entries to my 15 minute cooking event on or before 20th of May!