CHOCOLATE WALNUT FUDGE

A hot favourite of my kids, their friends and my friends. My kids are now grown up, but even now, whenever I bump into their school buddies , they always talk of the fudge & how they salivate at the thought of having it.

INGREDIENTS:

Condensed milkmaid(I use Nestle Milkmaid)-1 tin

Melted Butter (Unsalted)-100 grams

Sugar(Regular granulated)-1 /4^th Cup

Cocoa powder-3/4^th cup

Refined flour/Maida-2 tbsp

Walnuts( shelled, broken into small pieces)-1 cup

METHOD:

1.Take a heavy bottomed pan( kadhai)

2.Mix all the ingredients except the walnuts and put it in the pan.

3.Cook on high heat , stirring all the time.If you are busy & cant keep stirring it constantly, cook it on low heat.

4.Keep cooking till it thickens considerably and when you take it in a ladle( Kadchi) & try to drop it back into the pan, it falls in sheet not drops & that too not drop easily.You can also put a drop into ½ cup cold water, take the fudge drop & try to roll it between your fingers into a ball.It should form a soft ball ,which retains its shape.Thats the end point.

5.Add walnuts and mix well.

6.Switch off the gas.

7.Pour the fudge onto a lightly greased ( with refined oil , not butter) tray 11 inch X 9 inch size- like a swiss roll tin.

8.Spread evenly.

9.Let it cool slightly.Mark lines on it about 1 inch apart( its called scoring), horizontally as well as longitudinally.

10.Leave it outside to cool, in winters & in a fridge in summer.

11.Cut into pieces , when set.

MALPUA

Malpua and rainy days….an inseparable combo. When my mom in law was alive, the moment it would rain, we would demand malpuas. For the last many years, probably since her demise, we had'nt had them.With the recent cloudburst in Delhi, there was tremendous nostalgia for the same. So here I was making malpuas after so many years….The nicest part is that , you don't need a sugar syrup for this kind of malpua. So for diabetics, one can use sugar substitute and make it, which one cant do with the recipes requiring syrup.

INGREDIENTS:
Maida- 1 cup

Milk -2 cups

Sugar/Sugar free natura-1and a ½ tbsp to 2 tbsp. (When using sugar free natura, the amount used in terms of volume is the same as for regular granulated sugar.But in terms of weight they are not equal)

Aniseed/saunf- 1/2 tsp

Black pepper ( Uncrushed)/ kali mirch sabut- 1/2 tsp

Refined Oil- For frying

METHOD:

Mix all the above ingredients.Keep for about ½ hour.Mix well again. Heat oil in a frying pan for deep frying. When it turns hot, lower the heat, pour the batter slowy, with a ladle . Now raise the heat.It will spread and become like a fried egg.Turn it so as to enable it to cook on both the sides. It should be golden in colour.Remove from the oil and place on an absorbent paper ,like a kitchen towel, to absorb excess oil. Serve hot .You can serve it with rabri/Kheer too.Tastes awesome.If serving with kheer/Rabri one can reduce the amount of sugar in the batter.

Traditional trifle, tiramisu cake etc

Cooking is therapeutic. At the same time, if you are in a bad mood and carry it on while cooking,it can very easily ruin your food and your already ruined mood. So when in a bad mood, enter the kitchen with a view to create something and elevate your mood.You are sure to do a great job.
I was always interested in cooking or let me put it this way ,that I always had a desire to cook.It never seemed mundane to me.In fact , I wanted to study home science, but ended up a medical doctor.My mother who is 85 ,cooks till date and that too fabulously and has been a great source of inspiration for me.My mother , however,wanted me & my siblings to focus on our studies & hence I really dint cook much till after my marriage.Luckily ,for me, my mom in law & sisters-in-law all were fab cooks and that really motivated me further to learn to cook.I could'nt even light the gas stove, when I got married.So I firmly beleive,cooking is not a big deal at all, if you are motivated.
I must mention, a major source of inspiration here,Mrs.Kamla Lal, who was our land lady, a math teacher and an awesome cook.My mother,mom & sisters in law were all into traditional Indian cooking, but Mrs Lal , makes food from any part of the world.Before she went into full time catering, she would send something that she'd cook,every day, to my kitchen.Mini burgers, chocolate fudge,meringues,pop overs, mini chocolate eclairs,plum cakes, Khao Suey...the list is endless.My major interest was in baking and confectionery and Mrs Lal's dishes were there and made you feel that these are not just something you see on the shelves of a bakery and salivate but something you can actually make at home.That did the trick.So here I am ,cooking with passion and have my dear family, colleagues and friends encouraging me , so much so, that one of them created this blog for me.Thanx ,my dear guinea pigs.
Since my last post, I made traditional trifle which has a sponge cake as its base.I like to make my own, but you can buy ready sponge cake, soak with juice of your choice/condensed milk diluted with milk/diluted liquer....use your imagination.Top it with fruits and jelly cut into cubes.Finally drizzle cream/custard over it.You can garnish with roasted nuts. When made in individual glasses they look very colourful and appetizing.
Today i made Tiramisu cake.It was really a "Cake walk".I had already made the sponge cakes yesterday. So i just sliced each into two, so I could ice them.I soaked them in a mixture of strong coffee & Kahlua.The mascarpone cheese from Sugar & Spice was very nice.I just had to whip the cream,add strong coffee & Kahlua to the cheese, fold the cream into the cheese coffee Kahlua mixtur and my icing was ready.I iced the cake halves , placed one half over the other and iced the top & sides.I had seen some Kopikos imported coffee candies in a tin,in the market.I picked some coz I thought I would crush some and use them like praline to garnish my coffee cakes and Tiramisu .This is precisely what I did. The other cake, I covered with grated coffee flavoured chocolate. I made some individual tiramisu desserts, as well, in liquer glasses, .Tiramisu was really easy.Its my favourite dessert and I am so delighted that I could churn out not one but multiple.I shall post the detailed recipe subsequently.Till then.....Take care.Thanx for following my blog.
P.S.Remember, if I, who could'nt light the gas , can cook today, anyone can!!!