Cupcakes

Ingredients:

125 grams self-raising flour
125 grams caster sugar
125 grams soft unsalted butter
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
1 packet instant royal icing*
food colouring (for preference colour pastes)
cake decorations (wafer roses, sugar flowers, sprinkles, or your favourite sweets/candies)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF and line the tin with the muffin cases.
It couldn't be simpler to make cup cakes: just put all the ingredients except for the milk in the processor and then blitz till smooth. 

Pulse while adding milk, to make for a soft, dropping consistency, down the funnel. Or using a bowl and wooden spoon, cream the butter and sugar, beat in the eggs one at a time with a little of the flour. 

Then add the vanilla extract and fold in the rest of the flour, adding the milk to get the dropping consistency as before. 

I know it looks as if you'll never make this scant mixture fit 12 bun cases, but you will. I promise you this mixture is exactly right to make the 12 cup cakes, so just spoon and scrape the stuff in, trying to fill each case equally, judging by eye only of course. 

Put in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cup cakes are cooked and golden on top. As soon as bearable, take the cup cakes in their cases out of the tin and let cool, right way up, on a wire rack.

Once they're cool, make up a big, uncoloured batch of royal icing, and then remove a few spoonfuls at a time to small bowls. 

Using a bamboo skewer, add small dots of colours from the paste-tubs, stirring with a teaspoon and then adding more colouring, very slowly, very cautiously (pastel works best here, whatever your everyday aesthetic) until you get the colour you want. 

Use teaspoons to coat the cupcakes with icing and leave each a moment to dry only slightly, on the surface, before sticking on a rose, daisy or whole stash of decorations.

Recipe of Fruit salad

Ingredients:

Raspberries – 2 cups
Bananas – 2
Rasins – ½ cup (soaked overnight)
½ of whole pineapple
2 tablespoons of coconut

Method:

Mix all ingredients gently to avoid mushing. Serve at room temperature.

Recipe of Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

Dice small: Tomatoes, cucumbers, onion.
A little smashed garlic
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Lemon Juice 1 Spoon
Lettuce leaves
Fresh Basil or any herbs of your choice
few olives
grated firm tofu

Method:

Toss all the ingredients. Roll them in lettuce leaves and it is ready to eat. 

Recipe of Apple Kheer (Seb ki Kheer)

Ingredients:
Apple - 1 kg
Milk - 6 cups
Sugar - 1 cup
Saffron - 2 tsp (dissolved in 2 tbsp warm milk)
Almonds, cashew, pistachios - crushed

Method:

Bring milk to a boil in a thick bottom pan and simmer till it thickens. Thickly grate apples without peeling. Heat a pan, add the grated apples and cook on medium heat. Add sugar and stew till sugar melts and continue to cook till most of the moisture evaporates. Add some of the reduced milk and cook. As the mixture thickens add the remaining milk and cook till the kheer thickens some more. Add green cardamom powder, almonds and pistachios and continue to cook till the kheer thickens to the desired consistency. Cool and then chill before serving. 

Recipe of Peanuts Kulfi

Ingredients:

Peanuts (groundnuts) – 50 grams
Milk – 1 litre
Sugar – 120 grams
Kewra Essence – Few drops
¼ spoon cardamom powder

Method:

Boil milk in a heavy bottom utensil. Roast peanuts and grind them to fine powder. When the milk begins to boil add the peanuts powder and cook for 30-35 minutes on low flame. Remove from fire and add kewra essence and cardamom powder. Let it cool. Now put in kulfi moulds and set it in freezer. 

Method:

Recipe of Palak Pizza

Ingredients:

Pizza Base – 2 (you can also make pizza base at home)
Chopped Palak – 3 cups
Chopped Onion – 2 tbsp
Fresh Cream or white sauce – 1 tbsp
Paneer cubes – 2 tbsp
Chopped green chilies – 1 spoon
Oil/ Butter – 1 tbsp
Salt and pepper to taste

Garnishing: Grated paneer, thin slices of green and/ or red chilies

Method: 

For base: Boil palak. Heat oil and add onion and green chilies, fry till golden. Add boiled palak, salt and pepper and cook for a minute. Add cream and paneer.

Assembling Pizza: Keep the pizza base in greased baking tray. Spread the palak mixture and then sprinkle grated paneer and chili slices. Cook in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes at 200 degrees centigrade. (You can also cook the pizza on gas oven). 

Recipe of Pasta

Ingredients:

Pasta 

Crushed garlic

Tomato puree

Bell peppers

Onion

Grated cheese

Vinegar

Method: 

Heat olive oil in a pan. Put crushed garlic and fry. Puree tomato and add to fried garlic. Add mixed herbs and chili flakes.

For paste:   Take fresh red chili flakes – 250 grams, 1 red bell pepper, 1 pod garlic. Grind in mixer. Add 2 spoons of plain vinegar. You can store it in fridge also for future use.

Add 2 spoons of the paste to the tomato and herb mixture. Add salt. Add chicken and/ or mushroom. Once done add grated cheese or 2 spoons of cheese spread.

Boil pasta (add oil and salt in the water); drain and add to the above mixture. Add onion leeks, bell pepper, and capsicum. Mix well and serve hot.

Chana aur mooli ka saag

Ingredients:
Radish leaf : 2 cups

Black gram: 1 cup

green chillies: 3 chopped

asafetida: a pinch

cumin seeds: 1 tsp

bay leaf: 1/4 inch piece

mustard oil: 2 tsp

dried mango powder: 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Method:  Wash and finely chop the radish leaves. Heat oil in a pan. Add green chilies, cumin seeds, asafetida and bay leaf. Let it crackle. Now add radish leaves and black gram (soaked in water for an hour) and fry.  Add salt. Cover with lid, cook on simmer till done.  Once done add dried mango powder. 

Recipe Of Roasted Spiced Salmon with Mango Masala Salsa

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons garam masala
2 tablespoons curry leaves
1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
2 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
Pinch salt
Mango Salsa


Mango Masala Salsa
1 large ripe mango, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons mango juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon minced red onion
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
Pinch salt


Method:
Preheat a grill to medium-high.
First grind the garam masala, curry leaves, mustard seeds, and asafoetida in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle.
Gently rub each salmon fillet with oil and season with the ground spices and salt. Lightly oil the grill and add the salmon fillets, skin side down. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes and then flip and cook the other side for an additional 5 minutes, until salmon is cooked and flakes with gentle pressure from a fork. Serve the salmon fillets with the Mango Masala.
To make mango masala:
Mix the mango, mango juice, cilantro, red onion, lime juice, garam masala, and salt in a bowl and let sit for 5 minutes.

Recipe Of Smoked Aubergine and Pea Curry

Ingredients:
4 large aubergines
Salt to taste
300g frozen peas, defrosted
1 tsp coriander seed powder
1 tsp cumin seed powder
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp asafoetida
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 hot red chillies, minced
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
Handful of chopped coriander



Method:
Pierce the aubergines all over with a fork. Place under the grill and grill all over until the skin has charred. You can also grill it on the gas stove. Allow to cool, then cut the aubergines lengthways and scoop out the flesh and chop it up. Set the flesh aside and discard the skins.
Heat the oil in a large pan and add the mustard seeds. When they have popped, add the cumin seeds, asafoetida, garlic, chillies and onions. Cook until the onions are lightly golden.
Add the tomatoes and turmeric. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes on a medium heat, stirring constantly.
Add the aubergine flesh, defrosted peas, salt, coriander seed powder and cumin seed powder. Mix thoroughly and cook for a further two minutes before removing from the heat and garnishing with chopped coriander.