Apple Streusel Cheesecake

Trust me... this recipe is a winner! The original recipe is from Paula Deen which I tweaked a wee bit. Streusel is basically a crumb topping made with flour, sugar and butter. In this recipe quick cooking oats have been added too.I made it for the first time as a part of the Thanksgiving potluck and then made it again for Christmas. It is high on calories... but who cares about calories during Holidays!! This cheesecake has distinct layers of flavor. I simply love how the sweetness of the streusel topping is offset by the tartness of apples and cream cheese.

What I needed:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 
  
• For the Streusel Topping:
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

How I made it: 

Preheated oven to 350 degrees F.

I mixed flour, brown sugar and butter using a hand mixer until mixture is crumbly.Then pressed the mixture firmly into a 13 by 9 baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Baked the same for 15 minutes till it turns golden brown and set aside.

In a separate bowl, I beat the cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar with the hand mixer slowly until smooth. To it I added in the eggs and the vanilla essence and mixed till fully incorporated. Poured this mixture to cover the crust evenly.

In another bowl, I mixed the apples, cinnamon, nutmeg and 2 tablespoons sugar and used a spoon to evenly spread over cream cheese mixture. Lastly, added the streusel mix. To make the streusel I mixed all the ingredients together using a fork and then sprinkled on top of the layer of apple mix. 
Baked it at 350F for about 25 to 30 minutes till the filling set. 

Oat-Ma... Upma made with oats!

A healthy twist on the otherwise family favorite. It is usually made with sooji (rava/semolina). You can load it with veggies and always skip the potato that is normally added. You can eat it for breakfast or as an evening snack. It is quite filling and will keep you full till the next meal.
The curry plant leaves in this recipe came from our very own plant.


What I needed:

• 4-5 Curry Plant Leaves
• 1 tsp of  mustard seeds
• 2 slit green chillies (you can use more or less depending on the level of heat you want)
• 1 tbs of oil 
• 1/2 cup each of chopped carrots and green beans
• 1 cup of quick cooking oats 
• 1 cup of chopped onions
• 1 tsp of grated ginger
• 1 tsp each of cumin powder and coriander powder
• A handful of cilantro (coriander leaves) chopped finely
• A cup of water
• Salt to taste

I added oil to the hot wok/kadai and tempered it with the mustard seeds, curry plant leaves and the green

chillies. Once the the mustard seed started spluttering, in went the chopped onions. I sauteed the onions and then added the grated ginger and the cumin and coriander powder and cooked for a while. To this, I added the chopped vegetables and fried them well. At this stage, if required you can add a little water and cook covered if you like your veggies a little mushy.

 As soon as the veggie mix was ready, I added the oats and salt and about 5-6 tablespoons of water and stirred well. The oats will take just a few minutes to reach the desired consistency. You may or may not need to add a little more water. Last goes in the chopped cilantro. Give it one final stir and you are ready to serve.

"This recipe has high fiber and contains good amount of vitamin B and cryptoxanthin . I recommend it for diabetic and cardiac patients , those who are on a weight watch and also for renal patients who have their potassium levels under control." - Dr Ranjini Datta, HOD, Dietetics, KPC Medical College.

First Kolkata Food Bloggers' Meet

I met some awesome young ladies at the first Kolkata Bloggers' Meet at the Haka restaurant (City Center, Kolkata) and here are some snapshots of the brilliant lunch we had. Kamalika (the brain behind this) and Poorna (the chirpiest of the lot) had some amazing ideas and we are all looking forward to seeing these get materialised. How can I forget the sweet and thoughtful gifts which Kamalika and Archita and Amrita got for us :).

Gifts from Kamalika & Archita

Gift from Amrita

 Archita got Godiva chocolates for us and Kamalika got beautifully wrapped Cadbury Diary Milk. Amrita gifted us with homemade cakes cutely wrapped and each came with a cuter message.

Bloody Mary

Fresh Lime Soda

 The Group!

 I hope we do this again soon.. a session full of good food... foodie talks... and exchange of more brilliant ideas!!

Watermelon and Sweet Lime Mocktail

It is Hot! Hot! Hot! Pair it with the humidity and it becomes totally unbearable. And in this sweltering heat, there is nothing like a refreshing mocktail to beat the heat. Here is an easy one inspired by my mother-in-law. All you need is some watermelon and some sweet lime. Cut the watermelon into cubes and pulse the cubes in the mixer along with some ice cubes. Juice 2 sweet limes and keep aside. Pour the crushed ice and watermelon mixture into a glass and add 3-4 tbs of sweet lime juice into it. Garnish with a wedge of lemon and serve. An instant hit on a hot summer day! 

Fish Chops

There was some leftover fish in the freezer which gave me the idea to make some fish chops. Previously I used to use canned tuna to make fish chops. This time the only thing that I did differently was marinated the fish with little bit of lemon juice, washed it off, boiled the fish till it changed colors. Once the fish cooled down I mashed it using the back of the spoon and very carefully de-boned the fish.

What I needed:

• 4 medium pieces of fish - I used Rohu - boiled and deboned and mashed
• 2 medium sizes potatoes - boiled and mashed
• 1 tablespoon of ginger paste
• 1 tablespoon of garlic paste
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 finely chopped cilantro (coriander) leaves
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4th cup flour
• 1/4th cup bread crumbs
• 2tbs cornflour
• salt to taste
• Green chillies - finely chopped - (I added about 3-4)
• Bread crumbs, egg wash (egg beaten with a tablespoon of water) and flour for coating.
• Oil for frying

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients and and made small balls. The mixture should be tight. If the mixture is a little too runny then add a little bit more flour. Make an assembly line of flour, egg wash and bread crumbs in 3 separate bowls, preferably shallow. Each ball of the mixture first gets coated in flour, dunked in the egg wash and then re-coated in bread crumbs. Take the coated ball between your palms and press down a little. Do remember to shake off the excess bread crumb.
Heat a wok/pan and add oil to it. Fry till the fish chops turn golden brown and serve them warm with some ketchup, chopped onions and grated cucumber. These go wonderfully with a cup of tea. But I served these with a glass of refreshing watermelon and sweet lime mocktail to beat the heat!

Gota Seddho - by my Ma

Coming back to Kolkata has made me so busy (with hardly anything to do) that I took a long break from my blog and the kitchen. Today after a long time I made some lentil with vegetables - our cook, Minadi had already boiled the lentil, vegetables and kept (yeah! yeah! I am spoilt). All I did was tempered it with some onions, ginger garlic paste and some assorted spices.
This particular post is coming very late and also after a long hiatus.Keeping with tradition, this is something my Ma makes. Each year she will make Gota Seddho on Saraswati Pujo to be eaten on the next day - the day of 'Sheetal Shasthi' along with 'Kuler Chutney' and 'Mishti Doi'.  The concept is to eat food cooked the previous day and it should not be hot. I have always loved the 'Gota Seddho' my Ma used to make and even though it was not mandatory for me to have it, I would relish it - it was one of the best 'Gota Seddho' ever.
This year Ma made it too and send me a bowlful to enjoy and was gracious enough to share the recipe with me. Basically you have to use 6 'gota' (meaning whole) vegetables, 6 of each.

What was needed:

Kalo Kolai (Black Urad) or Green Moong er Daal - 100gm or 1/2 cup
Potato - 6 small
Sweet Potato - 6 small
Brinjal - 6 small
Sheem(Broad Beans) - 6
Peas in Pod - 6
Baby spinach - 6 small bunches
Roasted Black pepper crushed - 2-3 teaspoon
Aakher Gur - 5tbs
Salt to taste
Mustard Oil - 50ml - 4tbs

Now all you have to do it pressure cook all the vegetables with salt and once done you add the crushed black pepper, jaggery and mustard oil.


 

Gajar Ka Halwa - Indian Carrot Pudding

This is one of the easiest desserts to make if you have a food processor. Grating it is a little time-consuming but the results are so yummy that I did not mind doing it once in a while. 

What I needed:

• 3 cups of grated carrots
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbs sugar (this is how much I needed to reach my preferred level of sweetness, you can use more or less)
• 3 cups of 2% milk (or whole milk)
• 6-8 green cardamom pods
• 1 tsp of oil or ghee
• 10-12 raisins
• Some slivered almonds for garnishing

How I made it:

• Added oil to the pan (I had run out of ghee) and to it went the cardamoms, lightly crushed with a mortar and pestle.

• Added the carrots that I had shredded in the food processor along with the sugar and stirred continuously till the sugar carmelalized and the mixture turned a darker color.

• Added the milk and raisins to the mixture and cooked, stirring continuously till all the liquid evaporated. 

It tastes best when served warm.