Sunday, December 23, 2012

Lentil Wafers

1_edited-1

LENTIL WAFERS

Serves 6

Crisp as a potato chip, lentil wafers (pappadam) bring texture the table. In Kerala, they share the stage with simple dhal dishes, regal biriyani, and everything in  between. Most home cooks buy the uncooked wafers and fry them at home. Being very thin, they cook quickly. Give them your undivided attention to ensure that they don’t burn.

Lentil Wafer - 1

Lentil Wafer - 2

INGREDIENTS

12 lentil wafers (pappadam)

2 cups canola oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Cover a large plate or colander with paper towels.

Heat oil in a deep skillet over medium heat.

Add a tiny piece of an uncooked lentil wafer to the oil. When it rises to the top and bubbles around the edges, slip a whole wafer into the oil. The wafer will expand one and a half times almost immediately.

Flip it with tongs or a fork and cook the other side for a few seconds. Continue to flip it until both sides are golden brown.

Remove from oil. Hold over skillet for a few seconds to allow excess oil to drip off.

Cool on paper towels. Repeat with the rest of the wafers.

Lentil Wafer - Cover

Friday, December 21, 2012

Sweet & Spicy Baked Tofu - Asian Style


Tofu has been our favorite ingredient when it comes to quick snack. There are certain foods which DH is not very fond of. One of them is Tofu. At least I thought so until he actually liked something with tofu. It was when we went to a Thai place near our house before sometime. He did enjoy the vegetables with tofu served with rice. Then I "discovered" why he liked them. It was because it was

Eggless Nutella Chocolate Pudding







There was time when I didn't even taste a bit of
chocolate. As time passed things have changed. My husband introduced me
to Nutella, from then I have become an addict to it. Now I have started
eating dairy milk chocolate and my chocolate craving has
increased. 





Fine, this is my last chocolate post for this week. I saw this pudding from Flavors which she adapted from RK's blog.
The recipe called for simple ingredients and the method is also very easy
to prepare, I bookmarked and tried it few
months ago.





I prepared this pudding in 4 small glasses. Served to my parents-in-law and to my cousin who visited that evening. Everyone liked the silky smooth texture of it. Fortunately while I mixed the chocolate,
custard mixture it formed few lumps (Not the dry lumps!) which added
a good texture and gave a dark chocolate taste to this pudding. Also I
didn't add nuts to it. Overall, it is easy to make and worth a try.






Basic Information:


Preparation Time: 5 minutes


Cooking Time: 10 minutes


Idle Time: 3 hours


Serves: 4 persons





Ingredients:





Milk - 1 cup


Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - 2 tablespoons


Granulated Sugar - 3 tablespoons


Custard powder - 2 tablespoons (see notes)


Nutella - 4 tablespoons


Nuts - 5-6, roughly sliced, for decorating (Optional)






 Method:





1) Mix custard powder and cocoa powder in 1/4 cup of milk.


2) Pour the rest(3/4 cup) of the milk in saucepan and add sugar. Bring to boil.


3) When the milk is boiling, slow down the flame
and mix the prepared custard and cocoa mixture. Continue stirring to
avoid forming any lumps. Use one hand to stir and use other hand to pour
the mixture to the milk.




4) Continue stirring till the mixture starts thickening.


5) When it starts thickening, add nutella. Mix again.




6) Turn the flame off after a minute. Pour this to
the glass bowls/serving bowls and keep aside to cool down to room
temperature. Cover the serving bowl with cling wrap or aluminium foil.




7) Refrigerate for 2-3 hours. After 3 hours, remove the foil/cling wrap. Decorate it with sliced nuts and serve chill.






Notes:


1) If you don't have custard powder, substitute it with equal quantity of corn flour and a teaspoon of vanilla essence. I prepared this recipe using this combination as I didn't have custard powder at the time of preparing this recipe.


2) Use more nutella if you love it.