Where's the Pie?

Alright so, this is the Christmas + New Year + Dean Winchester special Pie Post, and its an interesting one. Its got recipes of the quickest, most decadent and most rustic pies that will leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy these holidays!

Note: For the shortcrust pastry recipe check out the "Toffee Chocolate Tarts" recipe, and follow the same for all three pies.

The quickest one: Walnut, Raisin & Honey Pie

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup crushed Walnuts
• 1 tablespoons Honey( or more according to taste)
• 2 tablespoons of chopped Raisins

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Spread the filling evenly in your pastry shells and garnish with Raisins (You will have blind baked pastry shells after following the shortcrust pastry recipe).
3. Best served warm.

-Ideal for when you have to throw an impromptu dinner party, this pie is ready in 25 minutes or less and serves one individual pie as shown in the picture, so just multiply the quantities of the ingredients by the number of people who are coming. 

The decadent one: Chocolate & Fig Pie

Ingredients:

• 75 grams Dark Chocolate compound
• 5 tablespoons Milk
• 3 dried Figs (Or more according to taste)
• 1 tablespoon Whipping cream
• Chocolate Chips (Optional)

Method:

1. Melt the Dark Chocolate compound with the milk in the microwave (you can do it the old fashioned way too!).
2. Wait till it cools, then fold in the whipped cream and mix thoroughly.
3. Meanwhile puree the figs in the mixer till they  have a paste like consistency.
4. Spread an even layer of the pureed Figs on the blind baked pastry shells, then pour the chocolate mixture on top and even it out.
5. Put the pies in the fridge to let them set for about 10-15 minutes.
6. Once they are set, top them with some chocolate chips and enjoy either warm and cold.

-This one's for the Chocolate lovers, with rich, sinful dark chocolate but with a twist of the fascinatingly unique taste of Figs. Its ready in 30-40 minutes, and again, serves as an individual portion. 

The rustic one: Apple Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 Apple
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon powder (Or more according to taste)
• 1 tablespoon Caster Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Water
• 1 pinch of Nutmeg (Optional)
• 1.5 tablespoons chopped Raisins

Method:

1. Place the apples in a saucepan with the sugar, cinnamon and water and cook for 8-10 minutes on a low/medium heat (or until soft).
2. Once cooked spread them evenly on the pastry shells after blind baking.
3. Now, cut long strips of the leftover shortcrust pastry, each of them about 2 centimeters wide and place them on the pie, in a criss cross pattern and attach them to the tart tins on either side.
4. Bake these pies in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Centigrade till the strips of pastry become golden brown (5-7 minutes).
5. Best served warm with Whipped cream or Vanilla ice cream.    

- The old "American Classic Holiday Pie"! I had to include my version of it. Ready in 45 minutes or less, this pie will blow your mind. Each apple serves for two individual pies. 

Deconstructed Nutella Cheesecake

This is an interesting one. I cheated. I do that a lot if you've noticed *Grins smugly*
So, generally when you make a cheesecake, there is always a giant fuss about slicing it, and my heart always races when i put my knife to work, always scared of massacring it. So, this time when my mom requested cheesecake for a dinner party i decided to save myself the trouble and make them in individual glasses. And guess what? Put anything in a glass and call it deconstructed, mortals think its the fanciest dessert ever! So here's a recipe you can use to make last minute fancy desserts that impress!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Cream Cheese
• 1/2 cup Nutella
• 250 ml Whipping cream
• 1/2 cup icing sugar 
• Oreos
• 1 cup crushed digestive biscuits
• 1.5 tablespoons of melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• Cocoa powder 

Method:

1. In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, whipping cream and icing sugar using an electrical whisk (Whisking by hand will also do) 
2. Add the Nutella and vanilla essence and mix thoroughly.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the crushed biscuits, a pinch of cocoa powder and the melted butter, until the butter is evenly distributed.
4. Now get your fancy glasses out and using an appropriately sized spoon, make a crushed biscuit mixture base and smoothen it out using the back of the spoon.
5. Then carefully pipe the Nutella mixture onto the biscuit base and put the glasses in the fridge for atleast 2 hours, or until the cheesecake sets.
6. Once they are set, sprinkle very little cocoa powder on top, to make it look pretty and maybe add an oreo like i did. (Then you can be fancy and ask your eaters to use it as a spoon and eat a little bit of oreo with each bite!)

Chocolate Vs Chicken: My ultimate dilemma

 

“Always serve too much hot fudge sauce on hot fudge sundaes.

It makes people overjoyed, and puts them in your debt.”

― Judith Olney

“And believe me, a good piece of chicken can make anybody believe in the existence of God.”

― Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Soo…this is a new thing I am starting around here, this is actually the original idea behind the blog, which has now become the same old monotonous “cooking” blog filled with recipes that you can LITERALLY find anywhere else. Now, food has become such a big part of my life over the years; that for a while now, I have often found myself deep in thought about “My ultimate food dilemmas” you know? Like this or that?

So today’s dilemma is chocolate or chicken? For me, these two are the universe’s ultimate gifts to mankind. Hands down. But the question (that I cannot, for the life of me, find the answer to) is which one would I choose over the other. I mean first, there is chocolate, that sinful indulgence that makes me feel like I have died and gone to heaven with every bite of every cake, pudding or tart (and oh those chocolate covered strawberries and marshmallows!!!) that I have ever eaten. Luring me into this blissful place where pure joy and contentment are the only emotions you are allowed to feel. It makes everything better, fosters love and takes away the heartbreak.

While on the other hand, there is chicken. Aaah chicken chicken chicken!! In all its taste and glory - from the “finger licking good” fried chicken to the “life gets better” chicken noodle soup, to several other forms of the beautiful poultry for every mood that I have ever experienced. Chicken has affected my life in ways, which I cannot even begin to fathom. I mean the overwhelming happiness that I feel when I see a roast chicken on the dining table is beyond compare, and yet when I do compare it to the sight of a bowl of my favorite fudge-y gooey chocolate pudding with a scoop of velvety vanilla ice cream my heart melts and my brain stops functioning. I become helpless, and my heart rate accelerates and I just cannot choose. I just HAVE to have BOTH. Its a dilemma. One that boggles my mind and tortures my soul.

I am sure we all have dilemmas in our lives, ones that we can’t solve. But I believe there will come a day when the heavens will show me the way, and I will taste something so exquisite that will make this decision easier. Till then I will keep showering you with epic food dilemmas that are ruling my food brain, so they can visit yours. Till then, ciao!

Slow Cooker Chicken Curry

I have been waiting for trying my hand at the "Crock Pot" slow cooking technique for a while now, this weekend i bring to you a tastier, healthier and more flavorful version of the regular Chicken Curry.
This one's going to spoil you for regular stove cooking forever.


Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1.5 Kgs Chicken (preferably boneless)
• 4 medium sized tomatoes
• 1 large onion (finely sliced)
• 300 gms tomato puree
• 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 regular sized cinnamon stick
• Salt and pepper to taste + for the marinade
• 5 crushed garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped and crushed ginger
• 2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste
• 1 tablespoon red chilli powder (Or according to taste)
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped
• 2-3 dries
• Fresh coriander for garnish

Method

1. Marinade the Chicken with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder and green chillies. Leave it to rest for at least 2 hours.
   
   
2. Heat some oil in a non stick griddle pan (a regular non stick pan would do too), and put in half of the garlic and ginger and cook for around 45 seconds to a minute. Then, add the marinated Chicken and cook till its golden brown on all sides.
3. Once the chicken is done, remove it from the pan and keep it aside.
   
4. Heat some more oil in the same pan and put in the rest of the garlic and ginger along with the black peppercorns, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, dried red chillies and the cinnamon stick and cook for about 45 seconds
5. Now, add the onions and cook for 5-6 minutes, or till they soften.
   
6. Meanwhile switch on the slow cooker and heat some oil in it. Once the onions are cooked, transfer then to the slow cooker and add the chopped tomatoes. Cook for about half an hour, stirring once every 15 minutes.
7. Now add the tomato puree, salt and pepper and the juices from the chicken pan and cook for around 1-1.5 hours or until the tomatoes have been nicely incorporated with the puree and have a thicker consistency.
8.  At this point, add the already cooked chicken and cook for another hour and a half or until the meat becomes tender and starts to fall of the bone. 
9. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot with parathas or rotis.