The Jamun Session

Hand-made gulab jamun is probably one of the best things in the world, and my friend, Apoorva, does justice to my favorite dessert like no other.  Here's her awesome recipe.

Mix a cup of milk powder with a third of a cup of maida (or all-purpose flour), a spoon of sooji and a small pinch of baking soda in a mixing bowl. Add enough warm milk to start making a soft dough (will be close to two or three spoonfuls, and a spoon of ghee. Let the mixture sit for five minutes to let the dough soak up the milk well, before greasing your hands with ghee and making little balls from the dough. Fry these balls in ghee until light brown, and set aside.

Meanwhile heat 3 cups of water, to which, add 3 cups of sugar. Boil the mixture, and add a couple of cardamoms and a teaspoon of lime. Simmer until thickened and properly combined. Add the fried dough balls in the syrup and let sit for at least an hour before serving. Garnish with chopped nuts and serve hot, preferably with cold ice cream to really turn it up!

The Navratan Korma

Vegetarian curries can get rich and fancy too! This mixed vegetable curry is rich as well as healthy, and would make a good party dish!

Keep aside three spoons of peas, a half cup of beans, half a cup of carrots, half a cup of blanched chopped cauliflower, half a cup of corn, and half a cup of chopped paneer. Dice a small onion and sauté in a spoon of ghee with a red chilli, a spoon of grated ginger and a small spoon of chopped garlic until the onions are cooked through. Add a medium diced tomato, a half spoon of turmeric, a spoon of paprika, half a spoon of cumin powder and half a spoon of coriander powder, and a pinch of garam masala, and sauté for another two minutes. Grind the entire mixture in a blender with half a cup of almonds, a spoon of poppy seeds, two spoons of cashews and enough water to allow for a smooth paste.

Heat a little more ghee and add a spoon of cumin seeds. When they crackle, add a handful of cashews and sauté for two minutes before adding the veggies set aside. Add the paste after the veggies start to look cooked, and a spoon of yogurt. Simmer for five minutes before adding a pinch of kasuri methi. Take off the heat after two minutes, and garnish with sliced almonds. Serve hot with rotis/naan!

The Curry Puff

So I thought I'd make sausage rolls, Aussie style... And changed my mind like the curry-khor that I am... So now we have chicken curry puff rolls, and it's a good Monday!

Marinate slices of 500g of boneless chicken thighs in a spoon of salt, a half spoon of turmeric, a spoon of chopped green chillies, a fistful of chopped coriander leaves, a half spoon of cumin, and a dash of lime. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 200C, and saute a half finely chopped onion, a finely chopped stalk of celery, and a spoon of chopped garlic in a little olive oil until the onions soften, then add to the marinated chicken. Lay out two sheets of puff pastry, and divide the chicken onto the middle of each. Fold the pastry around the chicken like a roll. Brush the top with egg, and sprinkle with sesame seeds before popping the rolls into the oven for 30 minutes.

Once cooked, slice and serve with your favorite greens!

The Vegan Breakfast

.... or a great high-protein meat detox breakfast for a power-packed Monday morning! You don't have to be vegan to try this, and it's so easy!

Chickpea Scramble

Heat half a chopped onion, a third of a chopped red capsicum and (optionally) half a spoon each of grated ginger and chopped garlic in a pan with a little olive oil. Cook until translucent. Add half a chopped tomato, a cup and a half of boiled chickpeas, a quarter cup of the vegetable broth made while boiling chickpeas, half a spoon of turmeric, a generous dash of paprika (no other spices), and freshly crushed sea salt to taste. Crush some of the chickpeas to add texture to the scramble. Add more broth if required to make sure it doesn't dry up too much. Once you're happy with the texture, add a handful of chopped coriander, stir for another minute, and take off the heat.

Serve on a crusty slice of sourdough or wholemeal Vienna, and you've got yourselves a ten-minute breakfast!

PS: This makes for a fabulous post-workout snack as well.

The Molten Lava Cake

This one is actually really easy to make; it's too bad I (unintentionally) stabbed myself with a knife the day I was supposed to make it; here it is, one day later.

To make the ganache that goes inside the cake, melt half a cup of chopped up chocolate with a little more than half a cup of cream, boiled and poured boiling hot over the chocolate. Mix until smooth, then refrigerate. Once the ganache is hardened and glossy, roll into little balls (like truffles).

For two molten lava cakes, mix half a cup of self-raising flour with two fat spoons of cocoa, one egg, a fourth of a cup of finely granulated sugar, a half teaspoon of vanilla essence, and about 100g of melted butter. Mix well in a bowl with a spoon until there are no lumps left.

Divide the mixture into two lightly greased ramekins; make sure the mixture only comes up to half of the depth of the ramekin. Add a ganache ball (truffle) in the middle and put the ramekins in a pre-heated oven at 220C for 10-12 minutes or until the outside has just set. Get the ramekins out; run a knife around the sides and dump the cake upside down onto a serving bowl. Add ice-cream and toppings of your choice, and dig in right away!