THE KITCHEN AFFAIRE

This is one yummy and perfect Lemon Cake recipe I found in the Food Network website. The recipe comes from none other than Food Network's famous program, Barefoot Contessa, hosted by  Ina Garten . One bite into this cake and you will forget all about your diet ;) And I thought why not bake such a yummy cake for our friends 25th wedding anniversary. And thats what I did.. :) What do you think? :) Courtesy :  Food Network For the cake 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature 2 1/2 cupsgranulated sugar 4 extra-largeeggs, at room temperature 1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons) 3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoonbaking powder 1/2 teaspoonbaking soda 1 teaspoonkosher salt 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature 1 teaspoonpure vanilla extract Method  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch) loaf pans. You may also ...

We love Mediterranean food. After Thai and Italian, Mediterranean wins our vote :) Well, I am not sure of this order though. :) Fadi's and Kasra are our current favorite Mediterranean eat outs. We are yet to try other new places. Nothing can beat the rich and creamy Hummus at Kasra. Nor can anyone beat the awesome Lentil Soup from Fadi's. But friends, if you think someone can, do let us know. We would loveee to try it out :)  So today, I was all determined to turn the first night of the long weekend into a Mediterranean night.  I was all pumped up to cook a perfect spread. ahem ahem. Or at least a near to perfect spread. hi hi. ;) Cmon guys, it did turn out good. :) In fact, I successfully made Pita Bread, Tahini paste and Hummus . Whistle whistle!!! :) And the yummy spread was celebrated with a second round of wine ;) Here is the recipe for you guys out there :) All thanks to this Mediterranean website - > DedeMed . Ingredients Flour - 3 C +...

As I write this post I am reminded of my dear friend  Gaya3 's ( My Pressure Cooker ) comment about going "Baking-crazy". Looks like I am going "Bread making-crazy". :D Both me and hubby love Croissants. Croissants and scrambled eggs are one of our favorite breakfast items. I have wanted to make croissants from the time I saw this movie of Meryl Streep - "Its Complicated". I love her acting and poise. I think she looks classy. :) Especially in "Devil Wears Prada". :) The croissants that I have made are not the authentic soft ones. These are a bit more crunch-ier, but they taste as awesome as the regular croissants and can be made quickly too :) I was concerned about the amount of butter used in making the regular croissants. But this recipe is perfect as it uses just minimal butter and still gives us the yummy croissants we like. Ingredients Water - 1/2 C Evaporated milk - 1/3 C Butter, room temperature - 3 T Egg - 2 Salt - 1 1...

Bread has always been a favorite to my dad. :)  Mom sometimes goes mad when she sees daddy eating bread, while she has prepared a 3 course meal. he he :D I have seen a couple of different kindsa breads back home (India). But not as many as I see here. Well, I guess the main reason behind this is that bread is an integral part of the everyday meal here (U.S.A). Just recently as I blog hopped, I noticed a lot of information and recipes on braided breads. I also noticed that a lot of the braided breads had a non-veg filling. :( So I thought that Ill try my hands on creating a vegetarian - filling braided bread. :D And here is what I got! Ingredients For the filling Cumin seeds - 1 t Green Chilly - 2 Ginger, chopped - 1' pc Garlic pods, chopped - 3 Onion, chopped - 2 Egg - 4 Turmeric Powder - 1/2 t Chilly Powder - 1/2 t Coriander Powder - 1 t Garam Masala Powder - 1.5 T Cilantro, chopped - 5 T Oil - ...

I am sure a lot of you guys out there would have tried this. I tried it for the first time today and it came out fine. :D I was so hungry and I wanted to try a new recipe. I went through the fridge and found broccoli hidden behind the pile of carrots. And as I thought of different dishes that I could try with Broccoli, I jumped on the Paratha option. I did not have the patience to dig for a recipe. So tried my own. And hey gals. It tasted good :) Ingredients For the dough Wheat flour – 1 C Water/Milk – ½ C Salt – to taste Broccoli Filling Broccoli, chopped – 1 C Onion, chopped – ½ Cumin seeds - ½ t Green chilli, chopped - 1 Cilantro, chopped – 1 bunch Garam masala powder – ½ t Amchoor powder - ½ t Salt – to taste Oil – 2 T Method For the dough Mix flour, salt and water/milk to make soft dough. Cover it with a damp cloth. Keep it aside for 5 to 10 mins. Filling Heat a pan with oil. When hot, add cumin seeds. Once the seeds splutter, ad...

When I came across Vardhini's Dish it Out event, I knew I was going to participate :D Dunno if my blog is old enough to host an event!! So why not have fun participating?? Three cheers to Vardhini for hosting this cool event and giving us amateurs a chance to experiment something new  :) Mr. A is not a huge fan of spinach though I try to include it into our diet in one form or another. Spinach reminds me of one person -- > Popeye the sailor man! I loved his show soo much, I still do ;) Spinach is a rich source of vitamin A, vitamin C,vitamin E, vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, folate, betaine, iron, vitamin B2,calcium,potassium, vitamin B6, folic acid, copper, protein, phosphorus, zinc, niacin, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids. ( Wiki ) The best part of spinach chappathi ( flat bread ) is that it does not taste any different from the plain chappathi . To make the chappathis healthier, I add crushed garlic (Garlic helps in digestion). :) Ingr...

Among other things, Northern Kerala  (also known as Malabar) has always been the proud owner of a huge set of special dishes. These specialities are relished by people all over Kerala :) Some of the specialites are Ari Pathiri (Rice Bread), Kozhikode biriyani, Mutta Chaya (Egg tea) As my family hails from North Malabar and hence I have grown up eating a lot of malabar specialities :) But this is the first time that I tried making Ari Pathiri by myself. And guess what? It came out fine. I still remember how my mom used to make these with expertise. She and her sisters would make them in a matter of seconds (while they chit chat and gossip)  :D . Well, I was not lucky enough to have any company while preparing this. Nevermind! It still came out good :)  Here is the recipe for you guys. Ingredients Rice Flour - 2 C Water - 2 C Salt - to taste  Method Boil water and add salt. When bubbles pop, pour in the flour and mix. Reduce heat, cover with a lid...

This is a dish I invented for my dearest hubby. Easy and yummy, thats the keyword. The best part is that your workplace is not strewn with food. Arun loves taking this to office. He can gobble this up and run for meetings. The phrase "Grab lunch" goes perfectly with "Stuffed Chappathi"!! :D  Let me start with the prep for you! Ingredients Chappathi - 4 For the stuffing Cumin Seeds - 1/2 t Onion, chopped - 1 Potato, mashed - 3 Carrot, mashed - 1 Cabbage, chopped - 1 C Cauliflower (If you have) - a few florets Turmeric Powder - 1 t Red Chilli Powder - 1.5 t Coriander Powder - 1 t Mango/Amchur Powder - 1 t Salt - to taste Oil - 2 T Method Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Add onions and fry till they turn translucent Once the onions are cooked, add all the masala powders and keep stirring. Add rest of the vegetables and saute again. Add extra oil if you feel that the vegetables are sticking to the pan. Sim the heat and c...

Olive Garden is one of our regular eatouts and "Fettucini Alfredo" is an all time favorite. Even before we start the main course, me and my hubby eagerly await their yummy Italian breadsticks which is served with olive oil. It lets out an aroma which is truly mouthwatering. :) I cannot resist trying this recipe. Thank you very much to dearest Soma of eCurry. With your perfect recipe I could bake my favorite Italian breadsticks at home. Woww. :)  Gosh!! Let me hurry up & pen the recipe for you guys and then grab those warm breadsticks here! :D Ingredients Active dry yeast- 1.5 t All-purpose flour- 2 C Unsalted butter- 2 T Olive oil - 1 t Warm water Sugar- 1 T Salt- 1 t Garlic powder- 2 t Dried herbs- 1 t For Coating Butter or Olive oil- 2 T Salt Garlic powder- 1/2 t Dried herbs- 1/2 t Method Take 1/4 C warm water in a bowl and mix half the sugar, yeast and set aside until foamy(about 5 minutes). Mix flour, butter, olive oil, g...

Ingredients Wheat - 3 C Salt - To taste Water- 1 C (Using yoghurt or milk will give you softer chappathis) Method Add salt to wheat. Pour water little by little into the mix. Use water only as needed (Do not let the dough become watery) Knead till it turns into a soft dough. Divide the dough into golf sized balls. Roll the ball between your palms till they are smooth and without cracks. Powder the ball with little wheat. Roll the chappathi till it is very thin. Heat a pan on a medium flame and put the chappathi on the pan. Once you start seeing bumps raised on the chappathi turn it using a spatula. Continue the same process for the other side too. The chappathi is ready once you see light brown bumps on its surface. Serve with a yummy curry.