Tropical Cheesecake

It's time of holidays and everybody is baking some goodies. We had series of potlucks during last weekend. I was also thinking to bake something appropriate for Christmas. But then G wanted to eat something different in dessert or sweet. So I decided to try this tropical cheesecake, though it is not summer. Any kind of cheesecake is my favourite. Hope you all start your new year with this dessert!!

Ingredients

For crust

250 gm crushed coconut biscuits

4 tbsp unsalted butter

For filling

12 oz fat free cream cheese

1 cup reduced fat cottage cheese

one and half cup coconut cream

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar

1 can crushed pineapple

2 tsp gelatin

1/4 cup passion fruit concentrated juice/any other fruit juice

For crust

Bring the butter at room temperature. Take one bowl and add coconut biscuit powder. Add butter in it. Mix it with your hand, till resembles to bread crumbs. Line the base of serving dish evenly and smoothly with biscuit mixture. Put in the refrigerator to set.

For filling

Hung the cottage cheese in cheese cloth/muslin cloth for 2-3 hours. Take one big mixing bowl. Add cream cheese,whipping cream,hung cottage cheese,coconut cream and mix well. Then add sugar in the mixture. Beat it well till it becomes smooth mixture. You can mix everything with electric hand mixer also.

Remove the excess water from crushed pineapple. Make sure there is not any water in the pineapple. Add pineapple in the cream cheese mixture.

Take one small bowl and pour fruit juice in it. Heat it 30 to 60 sec in microwave. Add gelatin in juice and stir it till it dissolves fully in it.

Add gelatin in the cream cheese mixture. Again mix everything well. Pour this filling mixture on the set base. Let it set in the refrigerator over night or at least 4-5 hours.

Serve cold by cutting into triangle pieces. Garnish with coconut flakes, sliced kiwis or any other fruit you like.

Notes:-

To cut the cake easily, run the hot water over the knife. Repeat the procedure before cutting every slice.

This is my entry to Purva's christmas feast event, tasty treat's santa's holiday challenge and yummy food's FIC white event.

Green Bataki (green potato curry)

During cold winter days, hot potato curry sounds a great idea! Though this recipe requires small baby potatoes, I wanted to have this curry so desperately that I made it with regular potatoes. If you look at other posts of my blog, you will think that now a days I am in love with green color...well this is my one more way to eat spinach.

Ingredients

To be grounded into green paste

1 bunch of spinach

2 small onion

1 roma tomato

1 small piece of ginger

2 cloves of garlic

4-5 green chillies

1 small bay leaf

2 whole black paper

To be grounded into white paste

2 tbsp magastari na bee (optional)

1 tsp fennel seeds(optional)

8-10 almonds

For Curry

5-6 baby potatoes

2-3 tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp garam masala

3 tbsp whole milk

pinch of asafoetida

pinch of fruit soda/eno

salt as per taste

Cut the spinach roughly and wash under running water for couple of times. You can use frozen spinach also and thaw it in microwave. Cut onion and tomato roughly. Make smooth paste of all the ingredients mention above for green paste in mixer.

Soak almonds, fennel seeds, magastari na bee in water for half an hour. Make smooth white paste in grinder.

Peel and wash the potatoes. I used regular potatoes, so I cut them in big pieces. Poke them with fork.

Take one medium pot and put it on medium flame on stove with oil. When oil is heated, add cumin seeds. When they start spluttering, add pinch of asafoetida. Add potatoes,salt and cover the pot with lid. Let the potatoes cook till they are fork tender. When potatoes are cooked, add white paste. Let it cook till oil separates. Add garama masala, red chili powder and mix well. Now add green paste and immediately add eno or fruit soda to keep the color green. If needed, add water to get gravy like consistency. Simmer the curry on slow flame for 10 minutes.

I did not want to use cream, so I added whole milk at the end. Milk gave the curry rich texture. After adding milk, again simmer the curry for 5-10 minutes.

Serve the hot green bataki with phulka roti or jeera rice.

Pav bhaji

Pav bhaji is one of favourite street food. It is originated in Mumbai and now popular in whole India. As every popular dish, it has different type of recipe in different regions. I love mumbai style pav bhaji. Some recipe has brinjal, cabbage, bottle gourd, beet etc as ingredients. When I was new in the kitchen, I also used all these ingredients. But after some trials, now I have my own kind of recipe version. I am sure that most of foodies have their own recipes. I wanted to share my version, hope you all like it!!

Ingredients

For Bhaji

2 cup cauliflower (cut roughly)

3-4 medium size potatoes

1 big green belle pepper (chopped)

2 medium onion (chopped)

5-6 roma tomatoes (chopped)

1 cup green peas

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp red chili powder

1 tbsp coriander powder

1 to 2 tbsp pav bhaji masala

1 to 2 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp coriander (chopped)

3 tbsp butter

For Pav

8 whole wheat buns

butter

1 tbsp vadapav dry masala (optional)

Bhaji

Pressure cook cauliflower, potatoes(with skin), and half of green peas. Remove excess water and keep it in one bowl. Remove the skin of potatoes and mashed them very well. Take boiled cauliflower and peas in one separate bowl, add little bit of water and make a puree with electrical mixer.

Take one pan and put it on high heat on stove. First add butter. When butter is melted add chopped onion. When onion is almost cook, add ginger garlic paste. Then add chopped belle pepper and tomatoes. Mix all of them well and cook till oil separates.

Now add all the dry spices and pav bhaji masala ( I used badshah brand masala). Then add meshed potatoes. After adding potatoes, mix well and keep on the heat for 5-7 minutes. Potatoes should absorbed all the spices well. Then add the puree of cauliflower and peas. Add remaining whole green peas. Add reserved water, as per consistency. (If you like dark red color, at this stage add tomato paste before adding water.) Lower the heat of stove and simmer the whole mixture for 20-25 minutes. Before serving add lemon juice.

Pav

Take one tava or flat griddle. Apply some butter on bun and sprinkle dry vadavpav masala. Roast all the buns on medium heat till golden brown in color.

Serve hot pav and bhaji along with onion.

Tiramisu Icecream

Tiramisu is my favourite dessert after cheesecake. This recipe is my kind of version of tiramisu ice cream. Though it is not authenticate, I like this recipe because it is quick and easy. This kind of dessert is really helpful for holiday season. The picture of this recipe doesn't look so good, because I was in hurry to cut it fast and eat right away!!

Ingredients

half pound chocolate sponge cake

1 cup mascarpone cheese

2 cup melted vanilla icecream

3 tsp instant coffee powder

1 tsp cocoa powder

1/3 cup water

Take water in one bowl and add 2 tsp instant coffee powder. Heat coffee and water mixture in microwave for 30 to 60 sec.

Take one big bowl with melted vanilla ice cream. Whisk it until smoothen with hand or electrical mixer. Then add mascarpone cheese. Again mix with mixer until ice cream and cheese mixed well.

Cut the cake into thin slices. Make lining of cake slices along the wall and the base of the serving dish. Pour half of coffee mixture on cake lining. Then pour half of cheese and ice cream mixture. Cover the entire surface of ice cream mixture with cake slice. Add the remaining coffee powder into cheese mixture. Mix it well and pour it over the cake slices.

Place the cake tin in freezer until fully set. Cut into the slices to serve. Sprinkle some cocoa powder for garnishing.

This is my entry to mansi's vegetarian thanksgiving event.

Notes

Mascarpone cheese is easily available in grocery stores.

Til/Tal ni chikki

Chikki is generally made during cold winter days from various nuts. It can be made either with jaggery or with sugar. I always like jaggery version. It is made in somewhat different way in Gujarat. You may need some trial and error to get the right kind of chikki.

Ingredients

1/2 cup jaggery

1/2 cup tal/til (sessame seeds)

1 tsp ghee (purified butter)

1/4 cup water

1 tsp sugar

Take one wide sauce pan and put it on medium heat. First add ghee. When it is heated, pour water in it. Once water start boiling, add jaggery. Stir it with spatula. Cook jaggery till it turned into brown in color.

To check the type of consistency for jaggery needed for chikki, put one small drop in cold water. If it doesn't get dissolved in water, then jaggery chasani/payo is done. Else cook it some more time and check it again in the same way.

When jaggery is cooked, add tal. Mix all of them well. Take it off from the stove. Sprinkle sugar on one flat surface. Put mixture of tal and jaggery in the centre. Roll it with rolling pin quickly. Make sure to roll the mixture before it is cooled. Roll it as thin as possible.

let it cool completely and enjoy!!

This is my entry to Madhavi's children's day event ,Srilekha's Sweets event and Daily Tiffin's low sugar sweet treats.