Non Vegetarian - Twinkling Tina Cooks

Classic Fudge Walnut Brownies

I almost can never resist desserts… or rather any form of sinful dark chocolate pastries. And a moist sinful brownie is just right to set the mood and go yummylicious. I like all my cakes a little moist – it just adds a different dimension.

Now brownies are real easy to make and just awesome to taste. It just makes me happy 🙂

All that you need:

All-purpose flour – ¾ cup
Granulated Sugar – 1 cup
Brown Sugar – ½ cup
Dark chocolate chips – ½ cup – I have used Morde dark compound here
Butter – ½ cup (melted)
Vanilla Extract – 1 tea spoon
Eggs – 2 large
Baking powder – ½ tea spoon
Cocoa Powder – ¾ cup – I have used Cadbury’s Hot Chocolate drink
Walnuts – ½ cup roasted & chopped
Salt – ¼ tea spoon
Milk – 1/3 cup

Little butter to grease the baking tray.

Let’s Get Started:

Preheat oven up to 180 degrees Centigrade or 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Sift all dry ingredients – flour, salt, baking powder, cocoa powder in a bowl and keep aside.

Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler. After the chocolate melts mix it with melted butter. (check for tips on melting chocolate here)

To this mixture add whole eggs, vanilla essence & sugar and beat until sugar dissolves.

Gradually combine the dry ingredients to this mixture while folding it.

Add milk to soften the batter. Rest the batter for at least 15 mins before you put it for baking.

Prepare a 9 x 9 inch baking tray by greasing it with butter.

Pour the batter and spread it evenly in the baking tray.

Take 1 teaspoon of plain flour ad coat the roasted walnuts. – this will prevent the walnuts to go and sit at the bottom once the cake starts rising.

Sprinkle the walnuts across the batter.

Bake it at 180 degrees Centigrade or 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 mins.

And you are ready for the indulgence 🙂

Try this out and let me know how you enjoyed this sinful chocolate indulgence.

You can have it just like that or can have it with vanilla ice cream.

Prawn in poppy seed sauce

Prawns can be cooked in almost every way that you might like – sauté, stir fry, deep fry, curry, baked – almost anything. Curry obviously is a major part of Indian Cuisine but wait a minute the onion tomato and spice curry is not the only curry that we do. There can hundreds of curry in made in numerous ways. So that’s what I tried here – bringing some distinct flavours from several parts of the country.

‘Posto’ or poppy seeds are used extensively throughout Bengali & Oriya cuisine it gives a very nice texture and a certain poppy hit. I have also used ‘char magaz’ which is a mix of dried almond, watermelon, pumpkin & cantaloupe seeds for the curry. It is mostly used in Rajasthani cuisine as well as in Bengali cuisine. So now you know Bengali food is not only fish & sweets!!

It is served with yakhni rice, which is nothing but cooking rice in aromatic water than the regular water. Simple!

All that you need

For Prawn & Poppy seed sauce

1. Prawn – 250 g

2. Tomato pureed – 2 cups

3. Posto (poppy seeds) – 2 tbl spoon & Char Magaz – 1 tbl spoon (soacked in warm water for 20 mins & pureed)

4. Cumin seeds – ½ tea spoon

5. Cashew nut & raisins (soaked in water) – ½ cup

6. Coconut Milk – 1 cup

7. Red chilli powder – ¼ tea spoon

8. Cumin powder – ¼ tea spoon

9. Salt to taste

10. Oil/Clarified butter – 2 table spoons

11. Lime juice – 1 table spoon

For Yakhni Rice

1. Long Grain rice – 1 cup

2. Star Anise – 1

3. Bay Leaf – 1

4. Cloves – 5-6

5. Green Cardamom – 4

6. Black Cardamom – 1

7. Cinnamon – 2 small sticks

8. Cumin Seeds – 1 tea spoon

9. Coriander seeds – 1 tea spoon

10. Black peppercorn – 1 tea spoon

11. Water – 2.5 cups

12. Muslin Cloth – 8×8 inch

So Now let’s get Started

Poppy seeds & chaar magaz

For Prawn & poppy Sauce

De-vein and clean the prawn – and marinate them with the lime juice and salt for 10 mins

Sauté the prawns in a wok till it turns opaque and then take of the fire

In the same wok heat oil and add cumin seeds.

When it starts spluttering add the pureed mix of poppy seeds & char magaz and keep frying till oil separates.

Add pureed tomato, cumin powder, red chilli powder and keep stirring

Add salt to taste and cook in low flame for 5 mins

Add the coconut milk and simmer for another 5 mins.

Add the fried prawns, cashew & raisin to the curry and simmer for 2 mins.

And you are done with your prawn.

Whole spices for yakhni rice

For Yakhni Rice

Yakhni rice may sound complex but is very simple actually.

Take a muslin cloth, put all the dry whole spices and make a small parcel.

Boil that parcel in water for 20 mins.

Cook the rice in this water. (I added some cumin seeds for extra flavour)

Garnish & serve the prawn with this aromatic rice.

Butter Garlic Prawn Spaghetti

I am a self confessed fan of Italian cuisine. Pastas are so quick n easy to make and you can experiment with almost anything that you like. So this time I tried with prawns. This is a Donna Hay inspired recipe… so loads of credit to her.

All that you need

1. Butter – 1 tblspoon

2. Olive Oil – 1 tblspoon

3. Prawns – 250 g – de-veined and cut in halves lengthwise

4. Garlic crushed – 4-5 cloves

5. Lemon Juice – 2 tspn

6. Thyme – 1 tspn

7. Lemon grass – 1 tspn

8. Salt & pepper for seasoning

Lets get started

Marinate the prawns with lemon juice & salt

Melt butter in a wok and add olive oil

Add crushed garlic and fry for 2 mins.

Add the prawns and fry in medium heat

Boil the spaghetti with little salt.

Add thyme, lemon grass and seasoning to prawn. [I use dried herbs, if you get fresh herbs please use that, and let me know where you collected that in Bangalore]

Once the pasta is cooked properly drain the water and the spaghetti to prawn and mix well.

That’s it you are done… drizzle some olive oil before serving and enjoy

Little Suggestion

While cooking pasta you should always add it in hot boiling water. There’s no need of putting oil in the water it doesn’t help in anyway. After draining the pasta from hot water put some chilled water and drain. Your pasta will never stick with each other!

Enjoy & let me know how you liked it.

Blackberry Muffins

I am such a dessert lover, I can almost never say no to anything sweet. That’s probably the same with all the Bongs. I guess lately I have been bitten by the baking bug, these days I can only think of Crème brûlées, cakes, muffins…

It’s a little difficult to arrange things for a hassle free baking exprerience in Bangalore, I think. I have been searching store after store for decent butter sheets and muffin trays and have returned dissapointed from many. Even the supposed largest lifestyle store’s sales people didn’t know whats a ramekin! Can you imagine that.

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Bhetki Paturi

bhetki paturi, steamed fish in mustard sauce, bengali paturi recipe

Bengalis love their fish – river water or salt water, no Bengali meal is complete without at least one item of fish. baked, steamed, fried, poached, grilled – you name it and we have a recipe for it.

When I speak to my friends here in Bangalore about the everyday Bengali feast, they are quite taken aback how come we add so many varieties and so many courses every single, and not to mention the famous Sunday mutton feast! Yes, I think we Bongs love our food and enjoy feeding our guests.

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Aloo Chingri Posto

The ‘aloo posto’ or potato in poppy seed paste, is a quintessential item of the coveted Bengali cuisine, without this the Sunday bong lunch is always incomplete. Posto or poppy seeds (also known as Khas Khas in Hindi) can be used in both vegetarian dishes and non-veg items. Here I have added some prawns along with the potato to give the exotic twist.

If you don’t like prawns or are vegetarian, you can omit it and still savour the subtle taste of poppy or as we call it in Bengali ‘posto’.

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Quick Steamed Pork Momo (Dumpling)

‘Momo’ is a traditional delicacy of China, Bhutan and Tibet. It’s very famous all across North East India and Nepal. These are dumplings made of flour, water and meat or vegetables. It’s a very simple appetiser which is served with a hot soup and a spicy dip. The best part is you can steam it instead of frying and cut on all those caloriesJ.

Here I have made it with minced pork, you can make it with any kind of minced meat that you like or even vegetables. Go ahead try it!

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Crispy Fish Fry

Fish and Bengalis are inseparable. A crispy fish fry always makes our day even if we are nearing an apocalypse! Hot, crispy and melt in the mouth feel is all that makes you happy.

In the last few months I can say I have become a better cook – one always gets better with time, practice & experience and so do I. Nevertheless, I think I just should get started. BTW apologies for bad photography – I hope to get better with time on that.

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