Hearty Spices

3 sheets Puff Pastry, defrosted 8 oz Cream Cheese, room temperature 3 oz White Chocolate, melted 3 tbsp Sugar 1 tsp Vanilla Extract ½ cup Jam Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Gently roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface to smooth out the pastry and remove any folds. Divide pastry into eight squares (or each sheet into quarters) using a pizza cutter or sharp knife. In a medium mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, melted white chocolate, sugar and vanilla extract until smooth and fluffy. Place 2 tbsp creamcheese mixture in the center of each pastry square. Make an indentation on the top of each dollop of cream cheese with the tbsp measure. Place 1 tbsp of jam in each indentation. Draw corners of the pastry up towards the center of the danish and pinch together. Press each pastry down lightly. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until pastry is a light golden brown. Puff pastry may spread slightly and the Danish will “open” as the pastry bakes. Makes 9.

Marinate  ¼ kg boneless bite-sized Chicken pieces with  ¼ tsp Pepper Powder,  1 Egg White,  Salt to taste,  1½ tsp Ginger Garlic Green Chilli paste,  ½ tsp Soy Sauce,  1 tbsp All Purpose Flour,  2-3 tbsp Corn Flour  and keep aside for an hour to 2 hours. Heat oil for deep frying and carefully drop the marinated chicken pieces into it.  Cook on low medium heat and towards the end of the cooking process increase flame to high and deep fry to a golden brown shade. Drain with a slotted spoon and keep aside. Heat a stir pan; add  1½ tbsp of O il and saute  ½ tbsp of minced Garlic  on high heat for about 30 secs. Add  ½ tbsp of minced Ginger  and  3-4 Green Chilies  and sauté for a few more secs. Add  6-7 tbsp Spring Onion Whites  and sauté for 3 minutes on high heat.  Reduce to medium heat and add  ½ tsp of Red Chili Powder ,  2 tsp Soya Sauce ,  2 tbsp Tomato Sauce , ...

Cook 2 cups of Rice in 4 cups of Water along with a tsp of Oi l and keep aside. Blanch 4 Tomatoes, remove skin and puree after cooling. Keep aside. Dry roast 4 dry Red Chillies, a tbsp of Coriander Seeds, a tbsp of Channa Dal,   ½ tbsp of Urad Dal,  Large pinch of Fenugreek Seeds and make coarse powder.  Heat  a tbsp of Oil in a pan, spluter  ½ tsp of Mustard Seeds, few Curry Leaves, a pinch of Asafoetida and a pinch of Turmeric Powder.  Add and saute 2 medium sliced Onions, 4-5 slit Green Chilies for 6-8 minutes. Now add the pureed tomato paste, Salt to taste and combine well. Reduce heat and add the cooked rice, masala powder, 2 tbsp of Roasted Peanuts and combine well. Remove from heat once completely incorporated and garnish with chopped Coriander Leaves . Serve hot with raita. 

For Kofta: ½ Cabbage, finely chopped/grated 1 big Potato, boiled & smashed 2 tbsp Besan 1 tsp Red Chili Powder Salt and Oil as required For Gravy: ½ cup Curd 1 Onion, finely chopped 1 Tomato, finely chopped or pureed 1 tsp Cumin seeds 1 tsp Coriander powder 2 tsps Red Chili Powder Garam masala (optional) Salt and Oil as required Boil the grated cabbage in water. Add little salt and water should be just enough till it covers the cabbage. Remove from heat once the cabbage is soft, this will take appx. 5-7 minutes. Filter the cabbage using a colander and transfer the cabbage to a muslin cloth. Squeeze out to remove the excess water. In a bowl, add the cabbage, potato, salt and chilly powder and mix well. Sprinkle the besan little at a time and mix well. You can make round koftas and place it on a plate. Heat oil in a kadhai, and fry the koftas till they turn brown. Place the koftas in a tissue paper to soak excess oil. In a pan, add little oil and the cumin seeds. Saute for a minute ...

Prepare a 8x8 cake pan with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350F. Bring 1/2 cup of Butter to the room temperature in a bowl. To it, add a cup of Sugar and whisk until fluffy. Add 2 tsp of Vanilla Essence, 2 Eggs and beat until creamy. Add 2 1/2 cups of Wheat / All Purpose Flour, 2 1/2 tsp of Baking Powder, 1/2 tsp of Salt and mix gently. Add 160 ml of Milk and a cup of mashed Banana in batches. Do not over mix.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and knock it gently against the counter to release air bubbles. Bake for 28 minutes and do the toothpick test. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

½ cup Toor Dal ½ tsp Turmeric ¼ cup chopped Tomato a small walnut-sized knob of tamarind 2 tbsp fresh or dry dessicated Coconut 1 tbsp Coriander Seeds 3 dry Red Chillies ½ tsp Fenugreek Seeds 10-12 Okra / Bendakaya, chopped 1 sliced Shallot or 2 tbsp Red Onion 2 Green Chillies ½ tsp Asafoetida 12-15 curry leaves 3 tbsp chopped coriander leaves 1 tsp jaggery or sugar ½ tsp brown mustard seeds 2 tsp Oil Salt to taste Pressure cook the toor dal with 1½ cups of water, tomato and the turmeric until soft - 2 or 3 whistles. Add ¼ cup of water to the tamarind and microwave for 30 seconds. Let it sit for a few minutes, and extract the pulp. Toast the coconut in a pan until it begins to turn golden, keep it aside. Then toast the red chillies and half the fenugreek seeds for a few seconds, and separately toast the coriander seeds until they turn just a little darker. In 1 tsp. of oil, fry half the curry leaves, the green chillies and the shallot until the shallot turns a little translucent. Grind...

Gravy - Heat 2 tsp of Oil in a pan, crackle ¼ tsp of Cumin Seeds.  Add a finely chopped medium Onion, finely chopped 3 Green chillies and fry until they are translucent. Add a finely chopped Tomato, a finely chopped Capsicum and fry for 2 minutes until they are slightly done. Add a medium grated Carrot , ½ tsp of Red Chili Powder, ½ tsp of Chat Masala, a pinch of Sugar, Salt to taste,  mix well and cook for a minute. Add 2-3 tbsp of Chopped Coriander Leaves, 2 tsp of Tomato Ketchup and mix well. Remove from heat and keep aside. Toast - Heat a tawa, apply Butter and toast 2 Bread Slices on one side. turn them over, apply the Gravy on the toasted sideand level it with a spoon. Apply butter to the tawa again and toast the other side until golden brown and crisp. Repeat the same process for the 6 more Bread Slices . Serve hot with Tomato Ketchup (optional).