Mango Shrikhand - Creamy Sweet Mango Yogurt with crunchy nuts :-)

The Mango season is about to be over and now I rush to the Indian store to grab a few and make some Mango specialties :-)  I have been thinking of making Shrikhand at home ever since I shortlisted it as a fat-free recipe (basically if u make yogurt with fat-free milk, that is :P)  Finally, got around to make this delicacy for my hubby who said it's equivalent to Meiji/Marigold Mango yogurt :-) That's a compliment, I suppose! :-)

Mango Shrikhand

Yield - 4 ramekins (as in the picture)

What You Need-

Ripe Mango - 1 (medium size)
Fresh Yogurt/ Curd - 1 litre
Sugar - 3 to 4 tbsp (adjust according to the sweetness you prefer)
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Nuts of your choice - I used Almonds and Cashews

Mango Shrikhand

Procedure -

1. Make Greek Yogurt following the procedure here. This takes 6-8 hours in the fridge. But you don't have to do much actively!
2. Blend mango in a mixer and get the puree.
3. Powder sugar.
4. Mix in powdered sugar, cardamom powder and the mango puree into Greek Yogurt and whisk them all together until you get a smooth texture. This is reallly important.
5. Chop some nuts and mix them too. Almonds would need to be blanched. Pistachios would be awesome, but I didn't have any yesterday. Reserve some nuts to garnish on top later.
6. Pour into ramekins or ice-cream cups and decorate with nuts. Refrigerate for another 3 hours to let it set well.
7. Serve chilled.

Simply awesome! Don't go by my words, try for yourself :-)

Umm...Slurp!

Blueberry Streusel Cake - Happy New Year!!!

I'm really fond of fruits in my cake and the berries, full of anti-oxidants, are definitely special! As a child, I haven't seen Blueberries or Blackberries and was fascinated to see some fresh produce here in Singapore! We do get Strawberries in India from places like Reliance Fresh or Nilgiris Supermarket and whenever appa brings home these cute fruits, amma makes fresh smoothies that taste so heavenly!

I am immensely delighted that this is my 100th post (Yeh!!!) and today is the 1st day of 2012 :) This is Celebration time! I decided to splurge a bit today and baked this one, without substituting butter with anything else! I did feel a bit guilty on creating some exceptions, but I guess we really enjoyed every piece of the cake :)

Blueberry Cake with Streusel Crumb Topping

The basic cake recipe is adapted from Joy of Baking, but the streusel topping is my own combination, with some oats and walnuts added for the crunch!

Blueberry Streusel Cake

What I Used for the Cake Batter -

Dry Ingredients -

All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Whole wheat flour - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/8th of a teaspoon
Baking powder - 1 tsp

Wet Ingredients -

Butter (unsalted) - 1/4 cup 
White Sugar - 1/2 cup
Flaxmeal - 1 tbsp soaked  3 tbsp of warm water for 5 minutes (or 1 egg)
Milk - 1/3 cup
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
Blueberries - 350 grams

Blueberries - out of the freezer!

For the Streusel Topping -

All-purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Brown sugar - 1/2 cup
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
Walnuts (coarsely chopped) - about 10
Oats (Quick Cooking) - 1/4 cup
Butter - 3 tbsp

Steps -

To Make Streusel Topping -

Mix the flour, oats, cinnamon and sugar together. Cut in the butter with a fork and blend well until it forms coarse crumbs. Add chopped walnuts. This is the streusel topping. Keep it aside.

To Prepare the Cake Batter -

• Sift the dry ingredients and mix them together.
• Beat the butter until smooth and cream sugar along with it.
• Whisk flaxmeal with warm water until it becomes sticky. Then, add it to the creamed butter-sugar mixture. Please look up this recipe for pictures of freshly ground flaxseeds and how it looks when whisked with warm water.
• Add vanilla and beat until well-incorporated.

• Now, add the flour mixture (dry) to the wet and add milk gradually and mix until just combined.

• Take out your cake pan, grease with butter (or use a baking sheet as a liner) and pour this prepared batter on top of it.

• Arrange blueberries on top of this batter.

• Sprinkle the prepared streusel topping on top. Press slightly with a spatula.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake, comes out clean, without anything sticking to it. Remove from the oven and let cool on the wire rack.

Blueberry Cake with Streusel Crumb Topping

The streusel crumb topping is the BEST part of this cake! It is ABSOLUTELY RICH with butter and sugar and the addition of oats and walnuts give it the much needed crunch :) I say, its so much better than cakes loaded with cream on top! Do try this and your taste buds will be soo pleased that you'll want to make it over and over again! :-)

Serve fresh out of the oven when it's still warm. Refrigerate the cake (if anything remains!) and it will stay good for a week.

Wishing everyone a fantastic new year filled with good health, joy and prosperity!!! :) 

Potato Salad - American Style

I'm certainly not an expert in American food but we both love their potato salad, onion rings, mashed potato, pancakes, pumpkin pie, apple coleslaw and much more...That explains why Billy Bombers is our favorite place to dine on a weekend.

I wanted to try potato salad at home since it appeared to be simple and promptly added Red Skinned potatoes to my Mustafa shopping list, since we were going there anyway. In fact, it is very simple. I have adapted the recipe to suit my taste but the original recipe is Rachael Ray's.

But you may ask, why red skin potato, why not the usual brown-skinned Russet potatoes? The differences are that red potatoes are sweeter and less starchy and more nutritious too. Also, they are cooked with their skin on (slightly scrubbed though) because it’s relatively thin and soft and adds extra fiber to the dish. On the other hand, brown potatoes are best suited for frying/roasting, baking and they make the perfect fluffy mashed potato. More on that later...

Now, let's move on to the recipe.
 
What I Used -

Red Potatoes - 3
Yellow Onion - 1/2 (chopped)
Garlic - 3 pods, chopped
Italian seasonings - 3/4 tsp
Mayonnaise - 3 heaped table spoons (Choose the one that has Dijon mustard and Vinegar as well) *
Olive oil - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Pepper (I used 4 black pepper pods and powdered them with a small hammer) - to taste

How I Made It -

• Wash the potatoes thoroughly and scrub the skin lightly (with a knife) so that there is no dirt.

• Cook them in a pan with enough water and salt (I added 1/2 tsp). Note that mayo usually contains salt. The potatoes should still be firm but just cooked at the same time. I boiled water first, added the potatoes, switched off after exactly 12 minutes and let them sit in the hot water for 5 more minutes. Drain the water and let cool (When too hot, they can get mashed up very easily). 

• Take a skillet, heat olive oil and fry garlic and onions for 3-4 minutes. 

• Take a bowl, add mayonnaise and add the fried garlic and onions to it. Add the Italian seasonings as well.  Add pepper powder. Mix them thoroughly.
• If you wish to avoid mayo (or its cholesterol), stir in a diced avocado* instead.

• Cut the cooked potatoes into big chunks and add to the bowl. Toss them carefully so that the potatoes don't get mashed. Mix them gently so that the potatoes are covered with the dressing.

• Garnish with celery. I used cilantro though :)

• Refrigerate for 8 hours before serving. This gives time for the flavors to blend in well.

Let me know if you liked it too :)

Sending this recipe to Soups and Salads Mela hosted by Srivalli and Breakfast Club hosted by Scrumptious Sally