Monthly Archives: October 2016

Meringue Ghosts [Halloween Special]

Posted in Cakes, Cookies, Desserts by

“By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.”

-William Shakespeare, Macbeth

Meringue Ghosts. They’re crunchy on the outside, and soft and mallowy on the inside.

It’s finally Hallow’s eve!

This post is quite accidental to be honest. I hadn’t planned on doing a Halloween special this year what with being swamped with college stuff, cake orders, and buddy nonsense.

Meringue Ghosts. They’re crunchy on the outside, and soft and mallowy on the inside.

I had an ignored Chocolate Cake lying in my fridge; plain top, frosted with chocolate buttercream, and chocolate drips on the sides. If you have ever tried my classic chocolate cake, you’d know that you end up with one lone egg white because the recipe calls for 2 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk.

Meringue Ghosts. They’re crunchy on the outside, and soft and mallowy on the inside.

 

And that one egg white is the reason why we have a Halloween post this year!  😀 It’s nothing like last year’s grand spectacle where we murdered a Red Velvet Cake and loved every minute of it. :3 But its awesome nonetheless!!

Meringue Ghosts. They’re crunchy on the outside, and soft and mallowy on the inside.

That one egg white has been used to make ghosts to adorn the cake with. Cute little meringue blobs together with their chocolate ball eyes made for adorable ghost toppers. The whole idea came out exactly as I had pictured.

The meringue ghosts were super easy to make; just three ingredients, four if you want to stretch it. The only thing I’d impress upon is ‘patience’. Patience when:

-beating the meringue to make it stiff and glossy, takes 3-5 minutes.

-baking the meringue till it easily peels off the parchment paper, round 60-90 minutes

-letting the meringues dry, round 2-3 hours

Other than that, they’re a breeze to make. This recipe only makes 10-12 meringue ghosts, just enough to top a cake with. But you can easily double the recipe to make more. Just remember the meringue code; for each egg white, use 1/4 cup caster sugar.

That is, if you’re using:

  • 1 egg white: ¼ cup sugar

  • 2 egg whites: ½ cup sugar

  • 3 egg whites: ¾ cup sugar

  • 4 egg whites: 1 cup sugar

And so on…

Meringue Ghosts. They’re crunchy on the outside, and soft and mallowy on the inside.

 

Do give these tiny ghost buddies a try. They’re crunchy on the outside, and soft and mallowy on the inside.

Happy Halloween!

Meringue Ghosts

Prep Time: 10 minutes                                                                        Yields: 10-12 cookies
Cook Time: 60-90 minutes
Ingredients:
·         1 large egg white
·         Pinch of cream of tartar, optional
·         1/4 cup caster sugar
·         1/4 tsp vanilla extract
·         Mini chocolate chips
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 105°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the egg white, cream of tartar and vanilla on medium speed until frothy.
  3. Gradually add in sugar and increase mixer to medium-high speed. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; about 3 minutes.
  4. Spoon meringue into a piping bag fitted with a round tip.  Pipe a blob on blob of meringue onto prepared baking sheet (three blobs in total). Add mini chocolate chips for eyes.
  5. Bake in preheated oven for about 1.5 hours or until the meringues are dry and crisp to the touch. Turn off the oven and allow the meringue ghosts to continuing drying in the oven for a few hours.
  6. Ghosts will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Meringue Ghosts. They’re crunchy on the outside, and soft and mallowy on the inside.

Dhaba Dal

Posted in Savoury by

Eating out is fun and adventurous. You get to try yummy new dishes without the hassle of cooking, table setting and washing up. It’s exciting to dress up and watch the waiter go by with trays laden with food that isn’t yours.

But sometimes the overpriced plates of pasta drowning in white sauce just don’t cut it. Sometimes what you need is good ol’ dal chawal.

Dal (curried lentils) is comfort food in all its comforting glory! It comes together in minutes and is very healthy and filling.

Dal (curried lentils) is comfort food in all its comforting glory! It comes together in minutes and is very healthy and filling.

It’s perfect for vegetarians and meat eaters (especially after Bakra Eid) alike.

Dal (curried lentils) is comfort food in all its comforting glory! It comes together in minutes and is very healthy and filling.

 

 

If you’re a newbie to lentils, fear not. This was the first dal recipe I ever made, and I’ve made it a dozen times since. It’s super easy to cook. It involves none of that pressure cooker hassle. I’ve never used a pressure cooker and never intend to use it in the future either. That thing gives me the jeepers! Its the fault of all the horror stories told about the pressure coolers exploding.

Lentils cook beautifully well by simply boiling them in spiced water.

Dal (curried lentils) is comfort food in all its comforting glory! It comes together in minutes and is very healthy and filling.

There’s two parts to this recipe: the cooking of the lentils and the tempering. I’ve tried to explain each one of the steps involved as clearly as I could.

It’s a classic Shireen Anwer recipe (bow down for the queen). So you can’t go wrong with that!

Do give this recipe a try. It’s spicy, creamy, and reminiscent of the dal you get served on the roadside restaurants.

Coupled with roti hot off the tandoor or plain boiled rice, this dhaba dal is sure to become a family favorite in your house.

Dhaba Dal

Serves: 6-8
Ingredients:
250 g chana dal/split chick peas
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1 tsp red chili powder
½ tsp turmeric powder (haldi powder)
½ cup ghee or cooking oil
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp red chili flakes
¼ tsp garam masala (all spice powder)
Green chilies, finely chopped
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Directions:
Soak the dal in water for 3 to 4 hours. Then wash and place in a pan along with; 3 cups of water, salt, red chili powder, and turmeric powder. Cook on medium high flame till dal is soft and is cooked completely.
For the tempering/tarqa:
In a small pan, heat the oil and fry the sliced onions till brown. Then add in the tomatoes, garlic and the chili flakes. Cook on high flame, mixing continuously, till tomatoes turn mushy and the oil comes on top of the surface. Add in the chopped green chilies, and garam masala powder. Mix well.
Pour the tarqa on top of the prepared dal and mix the two together.
Garnish with fresh coriander.
Serve hot with plain white rice.

 

Dal (curried lentils) is comfort food in all its comforting glory! It comes together in minutes and is very healthy and filling.

Stuffed Italian Pirazo Pie

Posted in Savoury by

Remember how I ranted on about college starting in my last post? Well, it did start and so much has been happening since then that I haven’t had the time to post anything. Group problems, project dilemmas, frenemies, general steering clear of some evil people, and what not.

Italian Pirazo Pie; a twist on the classic meat pie.

If there’s any recipe fit for a mighty comeback it would be a pie. Nothing beats a good ole pie!

A savory pie to be exact. Made with meat and cheese and dough and carbs.

It is so so good! I kid you not.

This recipe consists of two separate recipes.

  • one is for the pie filling,

  • the second is for the base and top of the pie which is essentially a tweaked up recipe of my foolproof pizza dough

Italian Pirazo Pie; a twist on the classic meat pie.

It makes for two pies. I made one with the beef filling, and stuffed the other one with a random shredded spicy chicken mix.

You can go wild with the filling;

  • sub the ground with chicken or sausages

  • add in corn, beans, mushrooms

  • drizzle in some Sriracha

  • or a dash of paprika

This is YOUR pie and the world is your pickle. Add in anything and everything your heart desires!

Italian Pirazo Pie; a twist on the classic meat pie.

 

How this pie works?

You fit half of the dough onto a pie plate, spoon on the filling, and then top with another piece of rolled out dough; plain or go fancy like I did with some rusty lattice work.

If you want to learn how to do proper pie lattice, check out this tutorial.

Italian Pirazo Pie; a twist on the classic meat pie.

This pie does take time to come together.

  1. Make the dough. Let it proof.

  2. Make the filling. Let it cool.

  3. Assemble the pie.

  4. Bake. Let it cool.

And THEN you get to dig in.

But it’s all well worth the time and effort…for this pie really is scrummy. You’ll find yourself going in for second And third helpings. Maybe more. :3

Italian Pirazo Pie; a twist on the classic meat pie.

I’m sure you’ll love this Italian Pirazo Pie; it’s a twist on the classic meat pie, easy to make and deeply comforting.

If you have any questions or comments let me know in the comment box down below. 🙂

Stuffed Italian Pirazo Pie

Serves: 6-8
Ingredients:
For the Dough
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 standard packet (1/4 ounce) or 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ cup whole milk
Lukewarm water, as needed
For the Filling
2 Tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
250g ground beef
½ tsp red chilli flakes
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp cumin powder
1 tomato, chopped
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp tomato ketchup
¼ tsp garam masala (all-spice powder)
1 green chilli, finely chopped
Fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Sesame seeds
1 egg, for egg wash
Directions
DOUGH
In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, the egg, oil, and the milk. Slowly mix in the water with your hands till all the ingredients are mixed well and dough starts to form.
Knead the dough for 5-7 minutes on a floured counter top till the dough becomes smooth and is no longer sticky. Add more flour if it is still sticky.
Bang the dough on the counter top 7-8 times for elasticity.
Shape the dough in a ball and place in a greased bowl. Brush the top lightly with some oil. Cover with plastic or a kitchen cloth, and allow the dough to rise somewhere warm until doubled in size, around 2 hours. In the meantime, prepare the filling.
FILLING
Heat oil in a pan, and fry the ginger garlic paste till golden brown. Add in the ground beef. Cook till the beef changes color, stirring constantly, for around 3-4 minutes. Add in the red chilli flakes, salt, black pepper, cumin powder, chopped tomato, and the tomato paste along with a ¼ cup of water. Mix. Cover and let it simmer on low heat for 10-12 minutes.
Then, increase the heat, and let excess water evaporate, stirring constantly. Add in the ketchup, bell pepper, coriander, garam masala, and the chopped green chilli. Mix well.
Set aside, and allow to cool.
ASSEMBLING
Punch down the dough and divide in half. Roll both halves, onto a floured counter surface, in the shape of two circles around 10 inches wide or according to the size of your pie plate.
Place one half of the rolled out dough onto a greased pie dish. Spoon on the filling. Top with shredded cheese. Place the other rolled out half of the dough on top. Crimp the edges. Brush with a beaten egg. Sprinkle on a few sesame seeds.
Bake at 200 degrees C for 25-30 minutes till its golden brown.
Enjoy!

 

Italian Pirazo Pie; a twist on the classic meat pie.