How To Measure Ingredients For Baking

A friend of mine on Facebook has shared this amazing video with me yesterday, so I thought of sharing it on my blog as I found this video very informative.


I have noticed many people have disasters while baking. Friends, baking is a Science not an art. Accurate measurements is very important. Kindly invest your money in proper baking tools and utensils such as measuring spoons, cups and jugs.

Please do watch this video. It will definitely help you :)

Qeema Masala Handi

Qeema Masala Handi

Ingredients:

Mince (beef, mutton or chicken) ½ kg

Oil ½ cup

Ginger paste 1 tsp (heaped)

Garlic paste 1 tsp (heaped)

Tomatoes 3 medium (sliced)

Green chillies chopped 4 (big)

Red chilli powder 1½ tsp

Turmeric powder ½ tsp

Crushed black pepper 1 tsp (heaped)

Coriander powder 1 tsp

Roasted and crushed Zeera 1 tsp

Butter 2 tbsp

Salt 1½ tsp

Coriander leaves for garnish

Ginger julienne for garnish

Method:

Heat oil in a Handi or any cooking pan, add ginger and garlic paste, fry a little. 

Add sliced tomatoes, green chillies and all the above masala, cook until tomatoes are soft. 

Now add the mince, mix well and cook for 10 minutes on medium-high flame. 

Cover and put it on Dum, cook it for another 10-15 minutes on low flame.

When done, add butter.Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and ginger julienne. Serve with Naan. 

Coconut Macaroons

INGREDIENTS:-

Sweetened condensed milk – 1 cup
Milk – 1/4 cup
All purpose flour – 1/4 cup
Sweetened shredded coconut – 2.5 cups


Optional:
Semolina (suji) – 3 tablespoons
Cashew nuts, broken into pieces – 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder – 1 teaspoon


METHOD:-

1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
2. In a large bowl, combine sweetened milk and milk, whisking until blended.
3. With a wooden spoon, stir in flour, mixing until thoroughly blended.
4. Stir in coconut, cashews and cardamom powder.
5. After combining all the ingredients, the batter was a little bit watery. So I test baked just 1 tablespoon and the cookie spread so much.
6. So I added 3 tablespoons of semolina (sooji/rava) to the batter and combined it well and now the batter was nice and firm. Again I test baked another tablespoon of the dough and the macaroon came out perfect.
7. Then I went ahead and dropped tablespoonfuls of dough about 1 inch apart and baked it in the oven until it was golden around the edges (which approximately took 15 minutes). I got 24 (plus 2 test bake) macaroons for the above measurement.
8. Cool for 10 minutes on the sheet. This point is very important. Don’t try to remove the macaroons from the sheet once it is out the oven because it will be very flimsy. 
9. Again don’t put it back in the oven to harden it. Just leave the macaroons on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes and it will harden by itself. 
10. Then transfer to a rack and cool completely.

Banana Milkshake

This simple shake help you recover from humid weather. Plus, it gives you much needed energy boost after a long tiring day. Bananas are also known to calm upset stomach and they also rehydrate your body.

Ingredients:

Ripe Bananas 1 or 2

Milk 1 cup

Vanilla Ice Cream 1 scoop

Sugar (according to your taste)

Crushed Ice

Method:

1. Place all the above ingredients in  blender and blend it till smooth.
2. Decorate glass with Hershey's Chocolate Syrup, and pour shake into decorated glasses.

Chicken Skewers with Bran Rice & Boiled Vegetables

Chicken Skewers with Bran Rice & Boiled Vegetables

Chicken Skewers
Ingredients:
Chicken boneless 250 grams (cut into cubes)
Mustard Powder 3/4 tsp
Salt 1/2 tsp
Red Chili Powder 1/2 tsp
Black Pepper Powder 1/2 tsp
Ketchup 2 tbsp
Soy Sauce 2 tbsp




Bran rice boiled 1 cup
Boiled vegetables 1/2 cup
Shashlik Sticks




Method:
Marinate chicken with all the above ingredients, put on skewers with cubed onions, brush with oil, and bake it on 180° C for 15-20 minutes till done. Serve with boiled vegetables and bran rice, this is a very good recipe for weight conscious people.

Trifle

You need to prepare:
Vanilla Custard
Strawberry Jelly
Banana Jelly
Grapes Jelly
Pineapple chunks
Grapes
Banana sliced
Mangoes (or you can use any seasonal fruits of your choice)
Colored Vermicelli boiled ½ cup
Cream 4 tbsp
Plain Cake
Whipped Cream for decoration
Cherries for decoration

Assembling from bottom to top:
Set grapes jelly as directed on the back of box, on the bottom of your serving bowl, refrigerate till it sets.

Make custard as per directions on the back of box. Let it cool, cut all the fruits, add in custard with 4 tbsp cream and boiled vermicelli, mix them well.

Add a layer of sliced plain cakes, soak them with any desired fruit juice, or milk, add another layer of fruit custard.

Cut jelly into squares add them roughly on custard layers, put another layer of plain cake, and last layer of custard.

Decorate with whipped cream, cherries and jelly.

Nankhatai

Nankhatai is a very popular Pakistani and Indian delicate crumbly biscuits. I watched this recipe by Tahira Mateen on TV. And tried for the first time ever yesterday, and to my surprise it turned out delicious. So thought of sharing this scrumptious recipe with you all.

Ingredients:
All purpose flour 1½ cup
Semolina ½ cup
Ghee 1 cup (melted)
Cardamom powder ½ tsp
Caster sugar 1 cup
Baking powder ½ tsp leveled
Milk few drops
Salt a pinch


Almonds (optional)
Egg 1 beaten (optional)


Method:

1. Add enough ghee to combine all the dry ingredients, most likely you will use little less than one cup of ghee.
2. Add 2-3 tbsp milk to soften the dough so it is malleable like a play dough.
3. Immediately make little rounds with a very light hand and flatten them gently.
4. Place them on a baking tray with enough space between each Nankhatai.
5. Lightly brush each with beaten egg.
6. Place almond skin facing up lightly to the Nankhatai. 
7. You can use cherries, jam, or pistachio too.
8. Bake them in preheated oven at 180° C for 15 to 18 minutes only.
9.  Do not over cook or over brown them, these are very delicate and crumbly biscuits.
10. To preserve them: Keep them in air tight container. These can be stored for 10-12 days.

Before Baking

Yields: 14

Honey Mustard Dip

Serve this super-easy tangy Honey Mustard Dip with Chicken nuggets and other various kinds of quick and easy appetizer. It's absolutely delicious! 

Ingredients:

Honey 2-3 tbsp

Lemon Juice 1 tbsp

Mustard Paste 2 tbsp

Mayonnaise 3/4 cup

Method:

Combine all the above ingredients well. And serve it with any fried appetizers or nachos.