SweetSurprise – Page 4 – The Secret Ingredient

Apples

Vegan Yellow Zucchini Chocolate Brownies | No Oil No Butter No Added Sugar Chocolate Brownies

By anshu September 11, 2015

Its been a month me and my husband have been clean. No No its not what you are thinking 😉 We are not on DRUGS!!! We are eating healthy and exercising to burn those extra kilos we have gathered as a result of food blogging 😛 We are trying hard to keep our meals simple, clean and avoiding sugar as much as we can. I know its a painstaking task. But you see every Christ has to carry one’s own cross 😉

This gave me an opportunity to look into healthier and nutritious dishes. I recently made Couscous Chickpea Salad, Mexican Black Bean Mango Salad. But nevertheless the craving for sweet things gets in more too often. I tried to indulge in a dessert which is gultfree. I know Dessert and Guiltree are like the North and the South Pole. But trust me these Chocolate brownies are without any eggs, oil or butter and no extra sugar is added to it. Its sweetened with apple sauce, chocolate and maple syrup and above all it has goodness of Yellow Zucchini. Another fabulous idea to hide in Zucchini in your kiddos food without letting them know 😉

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius for ten minutes. Wash, peel and core apple. Cut into small pieces and make a smooth puree in a blender. Set aside.

2. Wash, peel and grate a zucchini. You can use yellow or green. Both will serve the purpose.

3. Place the grated Zucchini in a cheese cloth and squeeze out all the water. Set aside. You can use this water to make roti dough.

4. In a small bowl add Flax Seed meal or Flax seed powder (Learn how to make Flax seed Powder at home) and add some water. Let it rest for ten minutes and become gelatinous.

5. In a mixing bowl add apple sauce and soya milk.*

6. Also add Maple syrup and Vanilla extract.

7. Add the gelatinous flax meal mixture to the bowl and give everything a good stir.

8. In another bowl swift and add cocoa powder and whole wheat flour.

9. Also sift and add in baking powder and combine with the dry ingredients. The purpose of sieving is to eliminate all lumps.

10. Gently fold the wet ingredients in the dry ingredients.

11. Add grated and squeezed zucchini and combine using a spatula.

12. Chop some chocolate and add to the batter. Save a little for the top garnish. You can even use chocolate chips instead.

13. Line a 8×8 baking tray with some parchment paper and grease it with little oil so that nothing sticks. Pour the batter in the greased tray.

14. Top it with reserved chopped chocolate and keep it for baking in a preheated oven for 25 – 30 minutes.

15. Remove it from the oven and let it cool down completely before you cut it into squares. You can store them up in fridge in air tight containers for a few days .

Other desserts you can try here are: Blueberry Jam Bars, Pumpkin Cake Rolls, Mascarpone Cherry Compote Cheesecake Glasses,

[whohit]ZucchiniBrownies[/whohit]

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Baking

Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze

By anshu July 29, 2015

The story of this Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze begins here. My parents in law brought for us lemons from our lemon tree back in Faridabad. The tree is a special variety which bears seedless lemons and the fragrance of fresh lemons is to die for. They were in abundance and then the search began to put them to right use. Easy way would have been to make lemon pickle out of it. However, I had a lot pickle lying in the house sent by my mom earlier this year. I never wanted to hoard pickle while no one eats it. So I decided to this amazing cake which was on my to-do list for a very long time.

The Cake has an interesting lemony flavour (what else you expect!! Silly me :p). If you have a hang of lemon cakes and have tasted lemon tarts and muffins then decide to do this cake. This could be a little overpowering for those who are expecting this to be an ordinary cake with a spec of lemon here and there.. umm no! It has a distinct tartness which I love!!

Directions:

1. Wash your lemons and pat them dry. Now remove the green skin from the lemons known as zest. You can use a zester or simply grater for lemons. Do not use the yellow skin inside for that is known as rind and can be bitter in taste. Do not throw the zested lemons away.

2. Cut the lemons into half and squeeze out its juice.

3. Grease or Butter, or spray with a non stick cooking spray, a 9 inch (23 cm) spring form pan and then line the bottom of the pan with parchment or wax paper.

4. In a bowl add butter, at room temperature and add castor sugar. Cream them together till sugar and butter become creamy.

5. Add Vanilla extract and crack in some eggs* (for eggless see tip below in notes). Whisk them together using a strong hand or electric whisk until it become frothy.

6. Add the lemon zest and combine. Set aside.

7. In a separate bowl add the All purpose Flour, salt and Baking powder.

8. Give them all a gentle mix and add little by little to the wet ingredients and mix.

9. Add lemon juice and combine. Do not over mix, just enough to moisten the dry ingredients.

10. Pour the batter in the greased baking pan and slightly flatten the top surface with a spatula.

11. Bake it in a preheated oven for 40-50 minute on 180 degree celsius or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let it cool down for 15 minutes on a wire rack then remove it from the pan.

12. In the meanwhile sieve icing sugar or confectioner’s sugar in a bowl.

12. Add lemon juice to it until it has reached pourable consistency.

13. Let the cake cool down completely Pour the frosting over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.

14. Let the frosting dry before covering and storing. This cake will keep for several days in an airtight container.

You can try other cakes Wacky Vegan Chocolate Cake, Persimmon Rum Cake. Apple Raisin Streusel Bread, Pumpkin Cake Rolls, Surprise Heart Inside Cake, Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake.

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Cherry

Mascarpone Cherry Cheesecake Verrines

By anshu June 11, 2015

Cherries are in season and that makes me very happy. My Love for cherries is unprecedented. It is my favourite fruit. It is not a common fruit in India and shows in markets for a brief period, but I ensure I enjoy it to the fullest before I have to wait for it the next year 🙂 To celebrate my love for these gorgeous looking cherries I made these Mascarpone Cherry Compote Cheesecake Verrines and Cherry Rosemary Focaccia Bread with Sea Salt, ~~the recipe I will share super soon~~.

This cherry cheesecake was a pure bliss and indulgence. It had a perfect harmony of flavors from sweet and sour cherries, Vanilla and Cookie base. It not only looked beautiful but tasted divine. The recipe is adapted from Life’s a feast. Its a simple treat and can be pulled in little time if unannounced guests surprise you.

This cherry saga doesn’t end here, I have even tried Cherry and Lychee Ice Cream and results were phenomenal. You may also like to try the very French Cherry Clafoutis which is a custard based dessert with fresh cherries.

Directions:
1. Gently wash cherries and pat them dry. Pit them using a cherry pitter or find out how to remove cherry stones easily without using a pitter.

2. In a saucepan transfer the pitted cherries along with brown sugar or mascabado.

3. Heat both of them over low medium heat for 6-7 minutes , stirring occasionally. You want juices to run out. Remove from flame and set aside to cool down. Your cherry compote is ready.

4. In the meanwhile add digestive biscuits to a ziplog bag and crush them using a roller pin.

5. Distribute the biscuit crumble in the base of serving glasses or tumblers. Settle them down with the help of pestle.

6. In a bowl transfer chilled mascarpone cheese and chilled whipping cream. The bowl should also be chilled in fridge before pouring them.

7. Place the bowl inside a larger bowl with ice in it. This will help with quick whipping. You can use a hand whisk or electric whisk to whip the cream and cheese into stiff peaks.

8. When it is about to get stiff add confectioner’s sugar and vanilla essence and continue to whip. Set aside.

9. Spoon the cherry compote into the glasses over the cookie crumble. Let the juices seep into the crumble and make it more delicious. You can Leave a little to be poured on top for garnish.

10. Top it up with Whipped cream as much as you like.

11. Serve it cold with a drizzle of leftover cherry compote and a cherry to make it more inviting.

You can even try Coconut Milk Mango Pudding and Blueberry Bars.

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Baking

Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake

By anshu May 27, 2015

Last time I made this cake was for my Hommie’s Birthday in Mexico. That time I was a beginner. I still remember how I had rejoiced when it had come out soft and delicious. I wanted to make this again and was looking for occasions, And one day I just decided to heck to occasion I am gonna bake this without occasion! So here it was a delicious chocolate vanilla cake to quench my craving .

This recipe is simple, rich and sinful. If you are looking for an eggless, low calorie cake I must warn you, you are on the wrong page. You must look for Eggless Almond Vanilla Cake or Wacky Vegan Chocolate Cake or Eggless Banana Bread with Melon Seeds or Orange Cake with Candied Orange Peel Filling. This cake is buttery and for the very reason irresistible.

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degree Celsius (Learn more about Oven Temperatures and Conversions). Grease a baking tin thoroughly with cooking oil and set aside.

2. In a bowl add some vegetable oil and butter at room temperature. (Learn how to bring butter at room temperature instantly).

3. Add sugar and cream them together using a whisk.

4. Add eggs and keep whisking till you get a pale yellow colour creamy batter. This till take good 5 minutes if you are using a hand whisk.

5. Add vanilla essence and milk. Combine. Set aside.

6. In another bowl add All purpose Flour, Baking Powder and Salt.

7. Gently combine the dry ingredients using a spatula.

8. Add dry ingredients little by little to the wet ingredients and combine until everything is moistened. Do not over mix please.

9. Pour 2/3 of the batter in the greased pan.

10. Add Cocoa powder in rest of the batter and mix well.

11. Pour the chocolate batter on top of the vanilla batter and cover the surface.

12. Use a toothpick or spatula to make random swirls for the marble effect. Do not go crazy.

13. Bake it in the preheated Oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let it cool completely before slicing the cake or it will crumble. You can ice if you like or just decorate the top with chocolate shavings. Serve with chocolate sauce.

You can try other cake and sweet bread recipes from The Secret Ingredient : Eggless Almond Vanilla Cake, Wacky Vegan Chocolate Cake, Eggless Banana Bread with Melon Seeds , Orange Cake with Candied Orange Peel Filling, Persimmon Rum Cake, Apple Raisins Streusel Bread, Spiced Raisins Bread, Pumpkin Cake Rolls.

[whohit]MarbleCake[/whohit]

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Dessert

Darsaan | Honeyed Noodles With Vanilla Ice Cream | Chinese Wonton Strips Dessert

By anshu May 10, 2015

Darsaan is a popular Chinese Dessert made with fried wonton noodles. The noodles are drizzled with Honey and Sesame seeds and accompanied with a scoop of Vanilla Ice cream . I remember eating this dessert at Berco’s, time and again. Infact me and my husband loved eating this during our dating time 😉

Out of the blue one afternoon my husband said we have ice cream in freezer lets eat Darsaan, I was zapped by his unexpected ~~request~~ demand. I did a quick google and found it can be made readily without much effort. If you have wonton noodles you can make it in a jiffy but nevertheless wonton noodles can be made from scratch. Within no time it was ready to be devoured and it tasted cent percent like the way they serve at Chinese restaurants, On the occasion of Mother’s day make this for your mommy and express your love to her.

Directions:
1. In a bowl add some, all purpose Flour, baking powder and salt.

2. Add oil and water and knead a soft dough. Let it rest covered for 20 minutes.

3. Divide the dough into half. Roll each dough into 9 inch circle using a roller pin. You may use dry flour to ease rolling.

4. Cut it into thin strips. Make sure the strips are thin otherwise they will puff up and will not be crunchy.

5. Heat the oil in a wok and gently put the stripes to fry on medium low flame. Once they have achieved golden colour remove them on a paper towel to absorb extra oil.

6. For the honey sauce add water and sugar in a sauce pan. Bring it to a boil.

7. Once the sugar syrup comes to a boil add honey and sesame seeds. Turn the flame off. Do not heat further for the sauce can thicken very fast.

8 . Place the fried noodles on a serving platter and pour the honey sauce over it. Serve with a scoop of Vanilla Ice cream.

You can even enjoy more summer delights like Mango Coconut Milk Pudding. Pista Badam Kulfi.

[whohit]Darsaan[/whohit]

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Dessert

Quick Pista Badam Kulfi | No Whip Just Blend Quick Almond Pistachio Popsicle Flavoured with Cardamom

By anshu May 4, 2015

Kulfi is a traditional popular frozen dairy dessert from Indian Subcontinent. This ice cream is much more creamier and denser than usual ice creams and can be made in variety of flavors like Mango, cardamom, saffron and many many more.. The distinct feature of kulfi is that it is not whipped during making so it has much longer melting time. I have always enjoyed eating Kulfis all my life. I prefer them over regular ice creams any day.

Traditionally Kulfi is made by boiling and reducing milk for long hours and then flavoured using rose, cardamom and saffron. It is a a time consuming process and a tedious one for sure. When I was in Mexico I was introduced to evaporated milk, which is reduced milk without sugar in a can. This changed my life forever. You can make kulfis in 5 minutes.. yes 5 minutes! Just put all the ingredients in a blender, pulse, pour in moulds and freeze. Its that simple. Even a kid can do it,

No one on earth could say they were not authentic in taste. I grabbed the evaporated cans from the INA market in Delhi and have stacked them in my pantry for the summer season ahead. Afterall our house hold is a kulfi freak!

Directions:
1. In a blender add a can of condensed milk.

2. Also add evaporated milk. You can buy Evaporated milk from our The Gourmet Shop.

3. Add cream.

4. Add some Almonds and Pistachios along with Cardamom. You can even use cardamom powder if you don’t like the shell of cardamom in your mouth.

5. Add two slices of bread. Yes any normal bread, don’t frown, trust me.

6. Blend this all together into a fine runny mixture.

7. Add saffron strands and mix.

8. Pour them in Kulfi moulds, or popsicle moulds or even small earthen pots. I used age old kulfi moulds gifted to me by my dear Mother in law 🙂

9. Cover with its lid or cap or you can even use a aluminium foil to cover it. Dont forget to insert a popsicle stick or wooden stick for ease of handling and eating it later.

10. Freeze for 2-4 hours. It took me 2.5 hours.

11. Run them under or dip them in hot water for a few seconds and pull out the popsicle out of the mould. You are ready to enjoy your kulfi. We like to eat with rose sugar syrup. It tastes divine!

You can even try our Mango Coconut Milk Pudding.

[whohit]BadamPistaKulfi[/whohit]

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Baking

Papaya Chocolate Muffins | Vegan Eggless Papaya Chocolate Chip Muffins

By anshu April 27, 2015

Having Ripe Bananas and unfinished Papayas can cause equal amount of stress. All we do is throw them down the bin. Few days back I came up with a solution to use overripe bananas in the form of Whole Wheat Banana Bread with Melon Seeds.

But then I had a Papaya which was huge in size and not sweet at all. So as a result no one touched it. My husband kept insisting to throw it away. I was hell bent not to waste food. Then I suddenly remembered by Friend and Fellow Blogger Priti from Indian Khana had posted a recipe of Papaya Muffins some time back. It sounded adventurous because I wasn’t sure if Papayas in muffins will taste good. But I trust Priti and her cooking. I went ahead and wola! No body could tell the muffins had papaya. It tasted great. I shared with teachers and staff in the school, they all loved it.

What a happy ending to Mr. Papaya. After trying them out I agree with what Priti says about these muffins, you do not smell papaya at all. The lemon zest covers it so well and tastefully. This recipe is going to take a permanent place in my kitchen. Thanks to Priti for this incredible idea and recipe. This one is for you dear friend 🙂

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven for 10 minutes on 180 degree C (Learn more about Oven temperatures and Conversions). Line a muffin tray with muffin cups or liners. Set aside.

2. Peel and cut the papaya in cubes. Put them in a blender and make a smooth puree. Keep aside.

3. Coarsely grind some flax seeds in a coffee or dry grinder and transfer it in a small bowl.

4. Add 4 table spoon of water in the flax powder and let it rest for ten minutes of until needed.

5. In a large bowl sieve All purpose Flour, Baking powder and Baking Soda.

6. Also add salt and cinnamon powder. Sieve the dry ingredients and throw the lumps away.

7. In the meanwhile Pour Papaya Puree in an other bowl and add sugar to it. I used brown sugar you can use white if you please or mix of both. Whisk it together until sugar melts.

8. In the same bowl add oil and flax seed mix. Combine using the whisk.

9. Add lemon zest, just the yellow green portion. mix well.

10. Mix dry and wet ingredients little by little and keep folding using a spatula. You should not beat hard just gently till the flour is all wet and moistened.

11. Add chocolate chips and fold gently. Leave a few for the topping.

12. Using an ice cream scooper put the batter in the muffin cups. Fill them only 3/4 of the cup. Leave room for it to rise.

13. Sprinkle some choco chips on top and bake it in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Keep an eye on them after 15 minutes. The cooking time can vary with ingredients and oven temperature. Keep checking by inserting a tooth pick, if it comes out clean its ready.

14. After baking let them rest on a wire rack for fifteen minutes or till they become cool. Enjoy with your favourite cup or Coffee or Tea.

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Dessert

Coconut Milk Mango Pudding | 10 Mins to Assemble Easy Mango Pudding

By anshu April 23, 2015

Summers are here and so are Mangoes. They are refreshing , delicious and everyone’s favourite, specially my father. He LOVESSSSSS Mangoes. He is a mango addict. I am not kidding! I have seen my father hunting for mangos at 2’o clock at night. Huh! My father’s pantry is often full of boxes of Mangoes. He is a diabetic but he cannot leave Mangoes. What can I say!

So coming back to mangoes, we are surrounded by mangoes everywhere these days and making delicious mango puddings makes the experience even more exciting. I came across this Korean blogger who had made this coconut milk Mango Pudding. I was simply awestruck. I had all ingredients on hand I made it immediately. This was soo delicious!

Directions:

1. Slice one mango and cut it into cubes. Put the cubes in the serving jars or glasses.

2. Scoop out the pulp of the other two mangoes and put them in the blender.

3. Add Condensed Milk and Evaporated milk to the blender.

4. Pulse the blender to make a smoothie.

5. In the meanwhile, in a pan add some water, Coconut milk and gelatine or agar agar for vegetarian option.

6. On low heat dissolve the gelatine using a spoon. Put the flame off. Add the mango smoothie to the coconut mix and stir till well combined.

7. Pour them in the jars or glasses with mango cubes. Give it a gentle stir and chill till set. It should take 2 hours.

8. Serve chilled with more mango Cubes on top or may be some Pomegranate seeds.
You can even try our Orange Cake, Apple Streusel Bread, Pumpkin Cake Rolls and Persimmon Rum Cake.

[whohit]MangoCocoPudding[/whohit]

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Easy Recipe

Attey Ka Halwa | Whole Wheat Flour Halwa | Kadda Prashad

By anshu April 9, 2015

Attey Ka Halwa is a dense pudding made with whole wheat flour and clarified butter or ghee. And when this same halwa is made by Gurudwaras, Sikh Temple as an offering it becomes pious and is known as Kaddha Prasad or Babaji ka Prasad. Its offered to devotees at all Sikh Gurudwaras across the globe. It is deliciously sinful but also very easy to make. Its laden with ghee and has a lot of calories but once in a while its okay to indulge in it. Right? 😛 Like any halwa it requires the right proportion of ingredients and gets ready in no time. It is also known as degh, tribhavli for equal measures of sugar, flour and ghee.

My mother has always made Sooji ka Halwa but I never had Attey ka Halwa at home except Gurudwaras. I got this authentic recipe from a friend, Sonu Mahajan whom I met on a food group on FB. We have never met in real life and talked once on phone but I feel I have some relation with her , may be prior birth :). Whenever I talk to her on web I feel she is my sister from another Mother. I thank Almighty for making us friends and for the bond we share. This post goes out to you Sonu! Love you Partner :*

Directions:

1. Add Ghee or Clarified butter in a wok or kadhai.

2. Add Whole Wheat Flour to the melted ghee.

3. Keep tossing it on medium low flame till it turns dark brown in colour. You can moderate the temperature of flame from high to medium to low. But ensure to keep tossing continuously for it can burn. It should take good 15 minutes.

4. In the meanwhile heat water in a container and bring it to a boil.

5. Once the flour has roasted and achieved the dark brown colour add sugar and combine.

6. At this stage add water and turn the Flame OFF. No sim no low but OFF.

7. Now keep stirring it till the water and flour has become dense into a semi solid, gooey form. Ensure there are no lumps. The test of doneness is when the halwa has centred and leaves the sides.

8. Serve hot and enjoy.

You can even try the Langar wali Dal served at Sikh Gurudwaras.

Try other Halwa recipes of Sooji Halwa, Kaddu ka Halwa, Gajar ka Halwa, Swang ke Chawal ka Halwa, Seb Dalia Halwa.

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Dessert

Swang Ke Chawal Ki Phirni | Barnyard Millet Saffron Milk Pudding

By anshu March 26, 2015

My fasts are on and I barely want to cook specially for myself. I guess the joy of cooking comes when you have a company. My husband knows my habit and he often volunteers to eat whatever I cook for myself during Navratras. So I have a company and I wanted to make this phirni with Swang Ke Chawal. Barnyard Millet Saffron Milk Pudding will be a more better of knowing this.

Swang ke chawal is not rice but belongs to millet family. It is know by various names like, Samvat, Sama, Vari, Varai, Samwa, Jhangora, Samo, Morio, Mario, Moraiaya, Bhagar & Kuthirai Vaali. This cereal is gluten free and is usually cultivated on marginal lands where rice doesn’t grow. Making this phirni is super simple all you need is little patience . I have experimented so much with barnyard millet that I call myself a pro 😉 . I have made with this Swang ke chawal ki khichdi and Swang ke chawal ka halwa .

Directions:

1. Soak the millets in water for at least an hour or so.

2. Drain the water and wash the millets till you get clear water.

3. Add Milk in the wok or Heavy bottom Pan. Bring it to a boil and keep simmering it on low till reduced to half. Keep stirring in between.

4. Once the milk is reduced to half add the soaked Millets into the milk.

5. Add Sugar and combine.

6. Heat little milk and saffron strands in it and let it rest for some time.

7. Mix this saffron milk to the millets in the pan.

8. Add crushed cardamom to the milk.

10. Chop some Cahews or any nuts of your choice and add to the simmering milk.

11. Keep simmering till the milk reaches thick consistency. It should take 3-4 minutes,

12. After the phirni has cooled down a bit, transfer to serving bowls and refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving. I like to garnish it with some fresh rose petals, saffron strands, crushed pistachio and love.

Other recipes for fasting you can try are: Healthy Kachalu Aloo Chat, Tangy Mint Potatoes, Khajoor Til Ke Laddoo, Vrat Wale Dahi-Paneer Kebabs, Swang Ke Chawal Ka Halwa, Swang Ke Chawal Ki Phirni, Tapioca Coconut Milk Pudding with Strawberry Preserve, Paneer Ki Kheer, Sabudana Kheer, Kaddu Ka Halwa, Sabudana Khichdi .

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