Soulful Creations

Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen was our August 2013 Daring Bakers’ hostess and she challenged us to make some amazing regional Indian desserts. The Mawa Cake, the Bolinhas de Coco cookies and the Masala cookies – beautifully spiced and delicious! Ingredients For the Mawa: 1 litre (4 cups) full fat milk For the cake: 1/2 cup (1 stick) (120 ml) (4 oz) (115 gm) unsalted Butter (soft at room temperature) 3/4 cup (180 ml) packed crumb 1-1/4 cups (300 ml) (10 oz) (280 gm) castor sugar 3 large eggs 5 to 6 cardamom pods, powdered, (about 1-1/2 tsp powdered cardamom) 2 cups (500ml) (9 oz) (260 gm) cake flour 1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract (optional) Cashewnuts (or blanched almonds) to decorate (about 18 to 20) Directions: 1. First make the “Mawa”. Pour the milk into a heavy bottomed saucepan, preferably a non-stick one. Bring the milk to a boil, stirring it on and off, making sure it d

...you just have to given in and make it yourself rightaway. A few days ago I was craving Nam Nam noodle's seven spice tofu rice platter and I realized that I find myself wanting to eat this fairly often- so decided to take charge and create my own version of this really flavorful dish. For the tofu Remove the tofu from the packaging. Place the tofu in some paper towels and keep heavy weight on the tofu in order to drain all the liquid , about an hour(keep removing excess liquid every 20 - 30 minutes or so) Cut the tofu into slabs and marinate with the concoction below (WARNING: the marinade is spicy) ~ 2-3 tbsp tamari ~ 2 tbsp chilli garlic sauce ~ 1 tbsp minced ginger ~ 1 tbsp sesame oil Rub the marinade on both sides of the tofu slabs and refrigerate for at least an hour (can do overnight too) Bake the tofu in an oven preheated to 350 F for an hour turning every 20 minutes or so While the tofu is baking, cook jasmine rice as per packaging instructions

If interested in any of these- drop a comment.