Sweet bowl of cherries...

...& Cherries atop a Chocolate-Cinnamon Mousse. Can it get any better?

Coincidentally, my dessert's set out in Red, White & Blue!! Have a great 4th of July to all of you in the U.S.!!

Luscious, sublime, decadent, luxurious, silken...

...a Gastronomical Treat!

Another one for Ruth @ Ruth's Kitchen Experiments for her Bookmarked event.

Quick Chocolate-Cinnamon Mousse with Cherries
Adapted from Dave Lieberman’s recipe from the June 2007 issue of Bon Appetit.

Cherries:
Fresh cherries - 350 gms, pitted
1/3 cup - Black cherry conserves ( or other cherry preserves)
1/3 cup - cherry juice (or ruby Port ) ... I used a squeeze of lime as I had neither
Almond Essence - 1 tsp ( I added this coz I think it enhances the flavour of cherries)
Mousse:
Chilled heavy whipping cream - 2 cups / divided
Ground cinnamon - 2 tsp (generous)
Dark chocolate - 200gms / choppedFor cherries:

• Combine cherries, cherry preserves, and juice in heavy small saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat.
• Reduce heat to medium and boil until juices thicken to syrup consistency, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Transfer to small bowl and chill until cold, about 3 hours. ( Can be made 1 day ahead.) Cover and keep chilled.

For mousse:

• Combine 1/2 cup cream and cinnamon in small saucepan; bring to boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth.
• Transfer chocolate mixture to large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat remaining cup cream in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Fold 1/2 of whipped cream into lukewarm chocolate mixture. Fold remaining whipped cream into chocolate mixture in 3 additions just until incorporated.
• Divide mousse among 8 glasses or bowls. Chill until set, about 4 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead.)
• Cover; keep chilled.
• Spoon cherries with syrup atop mousse and serve. Garnish with chocolate flakes & a sprig of mint. I also added a couple of cherries dipped in melted chocolate on top (which I set earlier on baking parchment).

C'est Magnifique !!

Was busy browsing & found a 'berry' event... Waiter, There's Something in My... the popular monthly foodie event hosted in rotation by Johanna, Andrew and Jeanne. Jeanne @ Cook Sister is hosting it this month's & her theme is 'Berried Treasure' - "absolutely any recipe in which berries take centre stage". Off to Jeanne this 'berried treasure' goes!!

Chicken Korma...home-made & finger licking good!

There was an article in the 'Daily Mail' a while ago, which was republished in the' Mail Today', here in India, more than a month ago (May 16, 2008 pg 15). It talked about junk food as 'seen by most of us as an unhealthy but occasional treat. A survey in the UK has revealed just how bad a takeaway can be. Most meals surveyed exceeded safe limits of fat & salt content, the doner kebab being the worst offender, which can contain as much fat as a wine glass full of cooking oil'! PHEW!! 'Overall, 86 percent of the meals had dangerously high fat content and 72 percent had high salt content, according to the research by UK's Hampshire County Council.'

'The chicken korma, with a fat content of 95.4g (136% of a woman's GDA) & a salt content of 1.1g 18.3% of GDA, made it to the list too. Others included a king prawn chowmein, a lamb curry, a medium pizza with garlic bread.' It was heartening to read that 'there are attempts in UK to encourage chefs to use less fat & salt.' To quote Jen Green, a scientific consultant on the survey, " If the chef is looking to make a curry or a stir-fry, it would be useful if they had in mind how much fat & salt they put in it. It is surprising how little you need to put flavour." I couldn't agree more...with health issues looming large, in an already hectic & stressed lifestyle, this is food for thought!

To convert the thought back into food, here is a flavourful, simple chicken curry for the soul & spirit!

The korma is a mild, pale, creamy, curry dish originating in India. Korma has its roots in the Mughlai cuisine of North India. It is a characteristically creamy and silky Persian-Indian dish which can be traced back to the 16th century and the Mughal incursions into the North-Western parts of India and modern day Pakistan and Bangladesh.

This recipe comes from my sis in the US, also known as our family's 'chicken queen', for never failing to come up with chicken in every avatar possible, from varied cuisines. North African, Mediterranean, Mexican, Indian, Middle-Eastern...the list goes on. This particular recipe is one she put together as an 'amalgamation' of several versions; fits the bill for a perfect & simple korma; one that uses everyday ingredients found on an Asian spice shelf. It's been bookmarked in my folder for eons, so has to be on its way to Ruth's Kitchen Experiments for her Bookmarked event....

Ingredients:
Chicken – 1 broiler cut into pieces, the smaller the chicken the better , about 800gms (on the bone)
Onion – 3-4 md/ 250 gms, sliced fine
Green cardamom / Choti elaichi – 8-10
Cloves – 10-12
Cinnamon – 1 inch piece
Peppercorns – 8-10 are optional
Ginger paste - 2 tbsp
Garlic paste – 2 tbsp
Coriander / Dhania pwdr – 5 tsp, sifted
Chili pwdr – 2tsp / as per taste
Paprika/Deghi mirch – 1tsp
Yogurt – 250 gms / 1 cup, whisked

• Take oil in a heavy bottom pan and fry onions till a dark golden brown. Take them out, drain on kitchen towel and grind in a coffee grinder. Should be crisp dry when cool. (I crushed them between 2 sheets of absorbent paper; that absorbed some of the oil too, overall reducing the fat content)
• In the same oil, put in cardamom, cloves,cinnamon & pepper and roast a little till the cloves swell up.
• Immediately add ginger and garlic paste followed by the chicken and roast really well till the water reduces and the chicken looks light brown on all sides.
• Cover and simmer for a few minutes on low heat.
• Add coriander pwdr, chilli pwdr and paprika and mix well..keep heat medium-low...
• Then add well beaten yogurt, a little at a time, and roast for a while till it is well incorporated and makes a thickish gravy and the oil comes to the side.
• Turn flame to simmer (very low), cover pan and cook for 10 minutes till the chicken is almost done. The chicken will cook in the water left behind by the yogurt.
• The colour of the curry, at this point, will look insipid; don't worry. The curry will come to life with a rich colour once the onion paste is added.
• Now add the ground fried onion paste and mix well. Add some water, if required to make gravy…as much or as little as you like.
• Let it come to a boil, then cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes for a last time.
• Serve hot with naan, parathas or steamed rice.

Drop Scones with whipped cream & mango

There are some meals that leave a mark on you, a stamp in your mind (or as in my case, on the DH's)! The memories of the quintessential American breakfast my sister stirred up for us in Dallas last year is a case in point, & features in our foodie conversation ever so often. Whinge, whinge the man goes...why don't you ever make pancakes? There is some block in my brain where I stubbornly DO NOT wish to get up early, hit the kitchen & make pancakes. But sometimes there are compulsions, & I had mine...a chef singing to me to make sure I delivered my promise of a 'breakfast under 15 minutes'!! Heavens...I swung madly between mangoes, stuffed baked peaches, parfaits, smoothies! Then again, it had to be challenging, & something special. Was just a coincidence that night I was reading a very old baking book I had bought in 1986 (over 20 years ago!!)...'Baking Course', edited by Isabel Moore. Turning pages I stopped at scones...hmmm! A further read led me to Drop Scones (Pancakes) & my 'breakfast under 15 minutes' sang back to me. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone the brain said...have DH singing like a canary & have the Singing Chef join the chorus too! YAY!!

Quick 'n' Easy... Scrumptious Scotch Pancakes

DH said they reminded him of the ones he had had for breakfast at The Oberoi's in Mumbai a while ago, & mine were better! WOOHOO!! They sold out like hot cakes, & the kids had a blast putting theirs' together. Crossed another invisible barrier of stuff I stubbornly wouldn't try...& now I wonder why?

Making them...

Pancakes are a type of flatbread prepared from a sweet batter that is cooked on a hot griddle or in a frying pan. They exist in several variations in many different local cuisines. Most pancakes are quick breads, although some are also made using a yeast-raised or fermented batter. Pancakes similar to the North American pancake but smaller (usually about 3.5 in / 9 cm in diameter) are known in the UK as Scotch pancakes or drop-scones (after the traditional method of dropping batter onto a griddle (a girdle in Scots)), and in northern England, Australia and New Zealand as pikelets. They can be served with jam and cream or just with butter. In Scotland pancakes are served at teatime but mostly as breakfast. Scottish and Irish pancakes, locally known as drop scones, pancakes or griddle cakes, are made from self-raising flour, eggs, sugar and milk with Irish pancakes being made with soda-flour and buttermilk.

THEY WERE GREAT...EXPRESS PANCAKES!!

I have pages of a zillion books of pages bookmarked, enough to bind into more books, I have pages on the net bookmarked, I have blogevents to participate in bookmarked....& I have this one life to do it all & more in!! A day has 24 hours & the blessed month only about 30 days. Phew... to top it all off, the firm intent to make sure I leave a footprint at The Singing Chefs event at WBB for sure. I promised & then got to know of the theme...'Express Breakfasts'