Banana and Coffee Pudding

Coffee and Banana Pudding

Hi everyone!
This is one of the recipes I've modified and made quite a few variants off. I first saw it on a site redirected from Google, but then edited it a few times to get it correct for my tastebuds. So let me know how you think it is. I'm not entirely sure if it counts as a pudding, but I can't think off a better name for it so I'll stick with pudding for now. Do suggest a name.

Approx prep time: 5 mins
Approx cook time: 5-10 mins
Setting time - half an hour 
Serves: 2 people 

Cuisine: European 
Part of menu: Dessert 

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe bananas 
• 3-4 tablespoonsbrown castor sugar + 2 teaspoons for garnish (if possible, else use powdered sugar)
• 1/4th cup milk
• 2 small scoops of vanilla ice cream ( or coffee or banana) 
• Coffee powder, depending on the strength of the type of coffee and you taste. ( I usually put one sachet of Nescafé coffee) 
• Few grated almonds for garnish.
• Few Pomegranate centres for garnish
• 1  strawberry chopped, for garnish

Major Equipment: 

• 2 small glasses 
• A mixer

Preparation:

1. Peel and chop the bananas.

Cooking:

1. Purée the banana and coffee mixture in a mixer. Add the milk and sugar aswell before mixing again. 
2. Make sure that the mixture is thick. Do not add too much milk (or add little extra banana and coffee if you added excess milk)
3. Fill the glasses to half with the coffee banana mix.
4. Add a scoop of ice cream in each glass. 
5. Garnish with sugar, almonds and pomegranate/strawberries 
6. Refrigerate till it sets
7. 
   

Plating Suggestion: Serve cold, in the glass. Alternative to this recipe, you could glaze the pudding and ice cream with a caramel sauce instead of the almond and fruit garnish. Also, you could use honey while mixing instead of sugar and milk. As I said there are multiple variants, the only restraint is your creativity 

If you have and questions or suggestions (or want me to put up the recipe of something), comment or dm me on my Instagram page, forks_spoons_and_knives

Tomato and Basil Soup -1 hour

Tomato and Basil Soup

Hi everyone, Im back, and I'm posting my first soup recipe. Soups are something I have been cooking for a while, so I actually wonder sometimes why I haven't posted anything in that section yet. But it's time to change that... To start, I thought I'll post the recipe for the most common(and simplest) soup across the Globe. Tomato and Basil Soup



Approx prep time: 15mins
Approx cook time: 30 mins + cooling time
Serves: 4 people

Cuisine: Indian
Part of menu: Soup
Hot/Cold: Hot

Ingredients:

• 10 tomatoes
• Basil leaves - around 20
• 2 onions
• 10 cloves garlic
• Carrots - 2 medium 
• Roasted gram Flour (Besan) - 2 tablespoons
• Black Pepper - to taste ( around 2-3 tablespoons)
• Salt - to taste (about 2 heaped teaspoon)
• Bay Leaf - 2
• Sugar - 3 teaspoons
• Oil 

Preparation :

Quarter the Tomatoes.
Roughly chop the onions, carrots, and garlic

Cooking :

1. Heat oil in a Skillet/ frying pan
2. Add the onions and bayleaf and sauté till transparent
3. Add the garlic and sauté for a few more minutes before adding 2-3 tablespoons of water
4. Add tomatoes, carrots and the basil, and stir slowly 
5. Once tomatoes are semi cooked add 4 cups water and bring to a boil 
6. Cover and cook for 15 minutes
7. Strain and let the residue cool. Reserve the liquid.
8. Remove Bay leaf and blend the residue to a smooth purée 
9. Roast besan in the frying pan for a minute or two, and the add the purée and mix
10. Add the liquid and mix. Add little water to obtain desired consistency
11. Add sugar,black pepper and adjust the salt before bringing to a boil
12. Garnish with basil leaves, and black pepper powder before serving

Plating Suggestion: Serve hot, garnished with basil or Bread Croutons

And that is how you make a Tomato and basil soup... Thank you everyone for reading this, and please do comment your views. 

Paneer Tikka

Paneer Tikka

Hello all! The last time I posted, I made a mental note that m gonna start posting atleast one recipe a week. So here I am, again, with another Indian dish - Paneer Tikka. Now, this dish can be really tedious to make, and it requires skewers and a bbq set/ an oven, but I promise, it is really scrumptious  to eat if made perfectly. Paneer Tikka has lots of variants, but the one I'm posting the recipe for today is commonly called Lasuni Paneer Tikka, because of the strong taste of Garlic in the Marinade. 

Approx prep time: 1.5 hours atleast
Approx cook time: 30 mins
Serves: 4 people

Cuisine: North Indian
Part of menu: Main Course
Hot/Cold: Hot

Ingredients:

• 500g Cottage cheese (Paneer)
• Hung Curd (normal curd will do in a worst case scenario, but marinading is always easier with hung curd)
• Cumin seeds (Jeera) - 1 tablespoon 
• Green chilli and garlic paste - 3-4tablespoom
• Garlic - 6-8 cloves finely chopped
• Red chilli powder - 1 tablespoon
• Turmeric powder (Haldi) - half a tablespoon
• Coriander (dhaniya) powder - 2 tablespoons
• Carom seeds (Ajwain) - 2 tablespoons
• Salt - to taste (about 2 heaped tablespoons)
• Oil - 2 tablespoons
• Vinegar - 1 tablespoon
• Roasted Gram Flour (Besan) - 5 tablespoons
• Black Pepper - half a  tablespoon 
• Vegetables - varying quantity of each - tomatoes, Green Bellpepers (capsicum), onions

Major equipment required 

Skewers 

Barbecue set (stand + wire mesh) or Oven

Preparation :

Cut the paneer into cubes, making sure they aren't too large else they could be raw after cooking.

Prepare your marinade by mixing the hung curd, garlic paste and garlic cloves in a bowl.
To this add your spices along with vinegar, oil, and the besan.

Cut slits in the Paneer cubes and stuff with the mix. After stuffing the cubes, let them marinade in a refrigerator for atleast an hour.

Cut your vegetables as you would expect them to be on a barbecue. For example - remove the centre of a Tomato before chopping the rest of it in squares. Same applies for bell peppers. Make sure you have enough veggies to thread into the skewer

Cooking :

1. Thread the Paneer Cubes onto Skewers, using your vegetables to seperate them. 
2. Barbecue this on a gas, Using a wire mesh on an open flame. 
3. Keep the gas on low heat and frequently rotate the skewers to prevent them from burning. 
4. Take off heat and serve in a plate before Paneer begins to Blacken.

Alternate methods. 

1. You could place the skewers in an Oven and roast them
2. You could do the paneer of in a pan with some butter and oil instead of grilling on Barbeque, but following method can affect the taste of paneer. (Also there is no way of doing the vegetables with this method)

And that is how you make Paneer tikka. Thank you guys for taking time to read this. Please do read my other recipes aswell, I'll keep posting new ones from time to time. 

Alu Matar Dry (30 minutes)

Alu Matar Dry

Hi everyone! I know it's been a long time since I posted, but I am back now, mainly since a lot of people told me they loved this blog, and some even asked me to get back to it. I know this hasn't really been a successful start, but more recipes probably will help it become popular. Right now, I'm here with a classic North Indian dish, called Alu Matar. Although it can be prepared with a Gravy aswell, this recipe is for the dry version.



Approx prep time: 15mins
Approx cook time: 15 mins
Serves: 4 people

Cuisine: North Indian
Part of menu: Main Course
Hot/Cold: Hot

Ingredients:

• 4 large sized potatoes
• 1.5 cups green peas 
• Cumin seeds (Jeera) - 1 teaspoon
• Ginger, chopped - a small piece
• Garlic - 3 cloves chopped
• Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder (Haldi) - half a teaspoon
• Coriander (dhaniya) powder - 2 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste (about 2 heaped teaspoon)
• Oil - 2 tablespoons
• Garam Masala - 1 teaspoon (optional)
• Green chilli, sliced/chopped - 1
• Fresh Coriander leaves, chopped - to garnish (optional) 

Preparation :

Boil and dice the potatoes into cubes

Blanch green peas in hot water

Add garlic and ginger to a mortar and pestle and grind it to a paste. Add a few drops of water if required 

Cooking :

1. Heat oil in a Skillet/ frying pan
2. Add cumin seeds, and once they start crackling, add ginger-garlic paste and the green chilli(optional)
3. Stir fry for a few minutes before adding green peas and potatoes
4. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt, and stir fry on slow heat for about 10 minutes. You may cover the pan during this time
5. Add the garam masala and chopped coriander leaves before taking it off the heat. 

Plating Suggestion: Serve warm, along with Roti (Indian Flatbread)

If you have and questions or suggestions (or want me to put up the recipe of something) Please feel free to comment.

Eggless Pasta Dough - 15 mins

Eggless Pasta Dough

This is one of the easiest and simplest recipes to make, since it requires less time and ingredients. Most people prefer to use a pasta machine but this recipe is to those whom a pasta machine isnt available. Yup, it is eggless pasta dough without a machine



Where I learnt it from: Google

Approx prep time: 15mins
Approx cook time: N/A 
Serves: 2 people

Cuisine: Italian 
Part of menu: Not to be served raw 
Hot/Cold: N/A

Ingredients:

• 50g plain flour
• 50g all-purpose flour 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Water
• Salt to taste

Major Equipment: None

Preparation:

1. Mix the flours and salt in a bowl
2. Use your fingers and a fork to mix the flours
3. keep adding water gradually to the bowl
4. When you notice that the flour is beginning to become stickier, add the olive oil
5. Remove the dough onto your work space and work it by hand
6. Do not over-stretch or overwork the dough 

Plating Suggestion: Use to cook different types of pasta.

If you have and questions or suggestions (or want me to put up the recipe of something) Please feel free to comment. Thanks and Happy Cooking.

Three Cheese Bechamel Lasagna - 2 hours

Three Cheese Bechamel Lasagna

Who doesn't like a good lasagna? This one is called a Bechamel Lasagna because of the sauce used in it - Bechamel or white sauce. You can add many veggies to your lasagna but here I am putting it up with just parsley and spinach.




Where I learnt it from: From the internet
Recipe requested by : My friend, Sandeep

Approx prep time: 20 min
Approx cook time: 1.5 hours
Serves: 6 people

Cuisine: Italian
Part of menu: Main Course
Hot/Cold: Hot

Ingredients:

• 6 sheets of lasagna (defrosted). Alternatively you could use home-made pasta dough
• 1.5 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 0.5 cups grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 cup skim Ricotta Cheese
• 2.5 cups Bechamel sauce
• 100g baby spinach 
• Butter

Major Equipment: 

• Oven

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F or 180 C
2. Spread flour over your work area to prevent dough from sticking
3. Make the dough into 6 equal sized ping-pong balls
4. Roll them into flat thin sheets. 
5. Use a knife to cut them into equal square shaped sheets
6. <--Start here if you are using store bought lasagna--> 
7. In a bowl, mix the three cheeses, using butter to bind them
8. Add Parsley and spinach in bowl

Cooking: 

1. Grease baking g bowl
2. Add a little of the sauce at the bottom of the tray.
3. Put a sheet of Lasagna and top with sauce and the filling 
4. Keep adding layers of lasagna and filling until 6 sheets of lasagna is used and filling is over.
5. Drizzle remaining sauce over the last sheet, covering it 
6. Bake for approximately 1 hour
7. Remove from oven and serve
8. Garnish with little grated Parmesan

Plating Suggestion: Serve in the baking tray. Let it rest for about 15 minutes after baking. Serve warm

If you have and questions or suggestions (or want me to put up the recipe of something) Please feel free to comment. Thanks and Happy Cooking.

Bechamel Sauce - 10 min

Bechamel Sauce

Bechamel sauce is a traditional Italian Sauce usually made to accompany pasta or serve as a dip. Commonly known as White sauce, the main ingredient in this sauce is Milk. Because of it's white colour and cheesy taste, It is also often called Cheese sauce; although, it can actually be made without cheese as well.




Where I learnt it from: My father
Approx prep time: 5 min
Approx cook time: 5 mins
Serves: 3 cups 

Cuisine: Italian 
Part of menu: Sauce
Hot/Cold:N/A

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 4 tablespoons of flour
• 3 cups milk
• Salt
• Black pepper

Major Equipment : None

Preparation: 

1. Melt the butter in a pot 
2. Add the flour and move to a low flame
3. Keep stiring
4. Gradually add the milk
5. Once the sauce thickens, add the salt and black pepper 

If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to post comments. Enjoy cooking!