Chocolate Tart

The last time I was in Pune, I went to a relatively new restaurant - Zodiac. The place had an American diner feel with all the classics. After stuffing myself silly with sticky chicken wings and a massive burger; it was time for dessert! The waiter insisted we try the chocolate tart. One bite and I was in heaven.

Unfortunately, there aren't many eating joints in Ahmedabad that I like going to. So, understandably, I had to try making a chocolate tart! The factor that truly tipped the scale was when my uncle brought a full litre of cream home!

This tart is a chocolate eater’s heaven; the only bad part is that it is so light that you may just end up eating the whole thing!

Ingredients –

·         1 9-inch Pre-baked Tart Shell

·         175g Dark Chocolate

·         200ml Cream

·         50g Sugar

·         2 Eggs, lightly beaten

·         Whipped Cream or Ice-cream to serve

Melt the cream and chocolate together over a pan of simmering water. Once it’s slightly cooled, gently beat the egg in and add the sugar. Pour this mixture into the tart shell and bake in an oven preheated to 170C for 20 minutes or till the sides are set and the centre is still a little wobbly. Serve warm with a dollop of cream or a scoop of ice-cream.

Fried Egg and Cheese Sandwich

The fried egg and cheese sandwich is probably the easiest, quickest and one of the yummier breakfast options. However, there are so many ways to make one! This recipe is one that I came up with when I was in boarding school in 2009. Eggs and cheese were precious commodities in our hostel so we had to make sure we used them wisely!

Ingredients –

·         1 Egg

·         2 slices Bread

·         1-2 cubes of Cheese, grated

·         1 Tomato, sliced

·         1 tsp of Oil

·         A dollop of Butter

·         Salt and pepper to taste

Melt oil and butter in a shallow frying pan. Crack the egg into the pan making sure that the yolk doesn't break.

Cover and let it cook on a medium flame till the top is half cooked. Layer the tomatoes onto the egg and add some cheese then cover with a slice of bread.

Now put a dollop of butter on top and flip. Add the remaining cheese on top, and a little pepper, and close the sandwich. Again put a dollop of butter on top and flip the sandwich.Make sure the slices of bread are toasted golden.

The cheese and yolk of the egg make the sandwich all come together very nicely and since it’s all done in one frying pan the flavors even soak into the bread.

Mulberry Tart

When I was really young I used to go to an institute near my house to play. They had an old mulberry tree there, and I used to love to eat the plump, juicy berries straight off the tree. Unfortunately I haven’t been to the institute in years.

I was walking past Himalaya Mall, Ahmedabad; a few days ago. That’s when I saw a man pushing a cart with a large heap of ruby red mulberries on it. I literally had to run to catch up with him and bought a big bag of the juicy berries. That’s when disaster struck, the first berry made my hair stand on end! They were incredibly sour; close to inedible!

I came home rather disappointed; when inspiration struck. As I was making a care package with various kinds of tarts for Varun; I decided to try out this mulberry tart. Delicious!

Ingredients –

·              150g Mulberries

·              75g Sugar

·              2 Eggs

·              200ml Cream

·              1 9-inch Pre-baked Tart Shell

Pour the sugar over the mulberries and place on a low flame. Roughly mash the mulberries with a fork so that they release their juice and combine with the sugar. Let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes. Whisk the two eggs in a bowl and add the cream. Gently stir the cooled mulberry mixture in and pour into the tart shell. Bake the tart in an oven pre-heated to 170C till the sides are set and the center is still a little wobbly. Let the tart cool slightly and serve.

Masterchef Chicken

I auditioned for a show called Masterchef India in 2012. This is the recipe that got me through! Masterchef gave me a lot of confidence, even though I did not get through the interview round. It gave me the push that I desperately needed! Thank you Aaditya Vaze for all the motivation and belief you had in me!

When I think of comfort food, grease is incredibly important! These cheesy delights will certainly hit the spot!

Ingredients –

·         500g minced Chicken

·         300g Cheese

·         50g Butter

·         25g Celery, finely chopped

·         25g Spring Onion, finely chopped

·         1 Chilly, finely chopped

·         5 cloves minced Garlic

·         2 tbsp Flour

·         1 Egg, lightly beaten

·         Oil for shallow frying

·         Salt and pepper to taste

Grate the cheese and thoroughly mix with the butter, celery, spring onion, chilly and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate till the mixture is rather firm.

Add the flour and egg to the chicken and mix.

Evenly divide the cheese and chicken into 10 segments. Roll a segment of cheese into a cylinder and cover it evenly with a segment of chicken. Repeat the same till you have 10 chicken covered cheese cylinders.

Roll each cylinder in a mixture of flour, salt and red chili powder. Shallow fry; till they are golden brown, serve hot.

Pancakes

I was first introduced to these pancakes a year ago, I haven’t looked back since! Gone were the thin crepes and in came spongy, buttery goodness! The credit for this recipe goes to Varun’s mother – Vaneeta.

Ingredients –

·         1 cup Flour

·         1 tbsp Sugar

·         2 tsp Baking Powder

·         ¼ tsp Salt

·         1 beaten Egg

·         1 cup Milk

·         2 tbsp Oil

·         Butter and honey to drizzle on top

Stir all the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another; simply combine the two to get a thick batter. Heat up your non-stick frying pan and pour a generous ladle-full of the batter. You will know it is time to flip when the entire surface is covered in little bubbles. You may want to add a little bit of oil at this point. Cook for about 1 minute or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Note – you can use a number of toppings in place of the butter and honey, whipped cream with fresh fruit, chocolate sauce and toffee sauce are some options!