Sahana is here!!

I'm a mommyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!! My baby girl came into this world on April 16th. If i may say so myself she is absolutely adorable. She's keeping me busy round the clock and I feel like a dairy animal ; ) but she is sooooo worth it.
Lots of recipes are piling up and I will slowly ease into posting them. Till then wish me luck with surviving all the sleep deprivation. Oh yes i also bought an ice cream maker so if any of you have some good ice cream recipes please send me a link to look them up.
More later.

Yummylicious Bread Pudding

Last night I had this strong craving for bread pudding. Since we only eat wheat bread and I had never made bread pudding with wheat bread I thought twice before making this. Believe me it turned out just awesome. Plus it was super easy and fast to make ....remember a craving pregnant woman can't wait too long. The pudding had a rich caramelly bottom layer and the pudding itself was moist and smelt of cinnamon and vanilla. Do try this one out.

Ingredients

6 slices of wheat bread, diced
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup whipped cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
a dash of nutmeg
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

For caramel sauce"
3tblsp sugar
3 tbsp water

Butter 1 tsp

Method:
Whip eggs together. Add milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract. Mix together. Stir in whipped cream. Add bread to the mixture and keep aside for 10 minutes. Meanwhile add 3 tbslp sugar to a pot and let it caramelize and turn brown. Then add equal quantity of water and stirring continuously mix the caramel together and let the volume reduce till the mixture turns thicker but not too thick and sticky. Pour it into the bottom of the baking dish. Add walnuts to bread mixture. Pour the bread mixture over the caramel. Dot with butter. Bake at 400 degrees uncovered for 30 minutes. Let it cool for 10 minutes and serve warm.

Mamma's Chicken Masala

Its April finally! I'm due in two weeks people and i hope this baby sticks to schedule and doesn't make me wait. Well with baby on the way I have my mom here with me. She made this really yummy chicken curry which tasted just like they make in the restaurants. It tastes great with rotis or nans. Its a bit tedious to put together but hey it can be made on a day when you have a bit more time. Try it out, its really good. I find it tastes better the day after its been made which allows all the sauce to nicely soak into the chicken.

Ingredients

1 pound chicken pieces, preferably bone in

Marinade
1/2 cup yogurt
ginger paste 1 tsp
garlic paste 1 tsp
corriander powder 1 tblsp
Cumin powder 1 tsp
chilly powder 1 tsp
turmeric 1 tsp
salt to taste

For the sauce
3-4 cloves
1 inch cinnamon
black pepper -5-6 seeds
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/2 tsp saunf/fennel seeds
1 tblsp khuskhus/poppy seeds
1 green chilly

Other ingredients

One large onion
3 tblsp tomato paste

Method
Mix all ingredients of the marinade together. Add to chicken and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile dry roast spices and poppy seeds. Then add coconut and roast for about a couple of minutes. Grind together all ingredients of the sauce using as little water as needed to make a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pot. Add one large chopped onion and fry till golden brown. Add tomato paste and fry. Cook till oil floats to the top. Add chicken without the marinade and fry till chicken brown a bit. Add the marinade slowly in batches cooking for a minute or two between each addition. When the chicken is half cooked, add the coconut gravy paste with 1/2 cup water and cook till chicken is completely cooked. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with nans.