A la Lamingtons!!!

Lamingtons are to Australia what chocolate Brownies are to America.
Lamingtons are cubes of sponge cake coated with chocolate icing and then rolled in desiccated coconut to finish. So when I did my research to make Lamingtons I learned that they neither come in varieties, nor do they traditionally have fillings. However, getting creative in the kitchen can always be fun. Ms Humble of http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/ did something so creative to spruce up her Lamingtons that inspired me enough  to make my own interpretation of one of Australia’s most famous dessert. Of course, I bordered on sacrilege by  re inventing my version of rolling them in chocolate shavings, sesame seeds instead of desiccated coconut. And the result was Pleasing else i would have called  it something else and not Lamingtons.


Lamingtons
yield -9 cubes
What you need
Sponge cake one day old
(fresh cake will crumble while coating it with chocolate icing)
A little desiccated coconut
Dark or White chocolate shavings(optional)
 For the chocolate icing
80 gms icing sugar
30 gms cocoa(i used hershey's)
1 tsp butter
35ml to 40 ml hot water

What you need to do

• Mix  castor sugar, cocoa, butter &  hot water well
  
• Now cut the one day old sponge cake into 2 inch cubes
• Cut the cubes horizontally and use a filling of your choice. It could be nutella, chocolate syrup or whipped cream
• Join the halves and dip them into chocolate icing or pour the chocolate  icing over it till well coated 
• Leave it on baking paper to set
  
• Now roll the chocolate coated cubes in desiccated coconut or chocolate shavings

BarbeQUe TIme!!!

You know how they say better late then never...well i think they are right!!

Statutory Warning : This post is going to be insecure self deprecating rant.Lately i've bin away from my oven and hence writing. How i wish i were a terrific writer and i could exactly write about how depressing it is to see a flat cake,soft cookies,over baked brownies,unused kitchen tools,wasted ingredients...my heart cries and i almost gave up ..but then somebody told me "They are cakes and u cannot stay away from them for too long" so i decided to overhaul my baking life albeit disheartned & I baked a batch of Dorie Greenspan choc chip cookies www.purplefoodie.com advice and voila!! they did turn out crisp & chewy precisely how a choc chip cookie should be.Everytime i chewed on my perfect cookie i was'nt reminded of the wasted chocolate chips of my former trial's but was rather thinking of making these delectable cookies everytime V would ask for some,of passing this fool proof recipe to my grandchildren and of feeding them to my brother R's kids who would otherwise be food deprived because of their dad's not so thrifty ways of spending money...errrr wait!!!this month was not all depressing like i make it sound! this month i did some terrific cooking i did barbeque twice once before sammy left :(...and then again at pedda aunties place(my second home) where i usually carry out my experiment dinner's god bless their hearts how they(jai & sand anna,swa& P bhabhi) praise to skies whatever i make even if slightly palatable...so here is a shot & recipe of paneer tikka & chicken makhmali kabab from my last trial!

Murgh Makhmali kabab
loosely adapted from sanjeev kapoor's khana khazana
 what you need

• chicken breast 800 grams
• green chillies 4-6
• ginger 1 inch piece
• garlic 5-6 cloves
• yogurt 2/3 cups
• processed cheese 1/4 cup
• fresh cream 1/4 cup
• nutmeg powder 1/2 tsp
• garam masala powder 2 tsps
• honey 1 tbsp
• lemon juice 1/2 tbsp
• salt to taste
• butter 1/4 cup

what you need to do

• clean and cut each chicken breast into two.
• hang yogurt in a muslin cloth for half hour to drain away the whey
• grind chillies,garlic & ginger to a paste,rub this paste onto the chicken pieces and keep aside for 15 mins
• mix the hung yogurt,cheese,cream,nutmeg powder,garam masala powder,honey,lemon juice and salt to taste.
• whisk the ingredients well and marinate the chicken pieces in this for three hours atleast in a refrigerator
• place chicken on the grill & cook brushing butter every five minutes

Paneer tikka
adapted from a random cooking website
http://www.indianfoodforever.com/snacks/paneer-tikka.html
 what you need

• 500 gms paneer
• 1 onion
• 1 Capsicum
• 1 Tomato
• Few Mushrooms
• Finely chopped Coriander leaves

For the  Marinade:

• 1/2 cup Curd  (plain yogurt)
• 1 tsp Garlic paste
• 1 tsp Ginger Paste
• 2 tsp Tandoori powder
• 1 tsp cumin (jeera) powder
• 2 tsp Chaat powder
• Salt to taste
• Red chili Powder to taste

what you need to do

• Cut Paneer into long 1/2" thick cubes.
• Cut all vegetables into cubes.
• Mix all ingredients for marinade and keep aside.
• Add the left marinade to the vegetables.
• Brush the marinade to the paneer and refrigerate it for 3 hours. 
• grill over coal until done
  
• Serve tandoori paneer tikka hot with green chutney

Baking Bread

By Carol Lynn Pearson  in "Women I Have Known and Been"
There seemed more accusation
Than admiration
In Vivian's voice
When she said,
"Well, I wish I had time
to bake bread!"

And so sometimes when
The loaves were in the oven
And Vivian was at the door
Louise mumbled something about
Another bake sale again

And never even tried to explain
Her near-religious ritual:

How the flour on her fingers
Was the sun and the rain
And the earth

How the thump of her palms
On the dough
Was the dance of women
On the ancient threshing floor

How the smell of the baking
Leavened her
And left her believing that
We rise, we rise

And
How the cutting
Of the first warm slice
For the first child home
Made her a bounterous goddess
With life in her hand.