Sugar Cookies

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough
Directions
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.


Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

Salmon Patties

The past one year has been super-duper busy with my two year old son learning new ways to keep me occupied and it has been a grueling semester at school too. But nothing gives me more joy than perhaps taking a long break, sipping coffee while reading a good book or cooking up my favorite recipes. I always find the cooking part easier than the taking notes part where i try to write down the recipes so I can post them here. But hopefully, the next two weeks of winter break will be more productive in that sense. Look out for some more recipes.


Ingredients
* 2 cups flaked, cooked red salmon (2 15.5 oz. cans), skin and bones removed, drained
* 1/2 cup fine cracker crumbs
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten
* 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
* 1/4 cup red pepper
* 1/4 cup yellow pepper
* 2 tablespoons parsley, minced
* 1 1/2 teaspoon capers, drained
* dash hot sauce
* 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1/2 cup mayonnaise
* 1 teaspoon lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 2 tablespoons oil

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients except for butter and oil.
2. Divide into 8 equal portions and form into patties
3. Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a non-stick frying pan.
4. In batches of four, cook salmon cakes for 4-5 minutes on each side over medium heat, or until browned. Repeat with the rest of the butter and oil and cook the other four cakes.
5. When cooked, set onto a paper towel lined plate to catch any extra oil.
6. Serve hot with chili Sauce.

Chocolate and Blueberry Cheesecake

I tried this recipe for the first time for the Christmas dinner this year and it was a big hit and unbelievably yummy even though it does leave you guilty with all the calories consumed. But what the heck---it's Christmas!
Ingredients:

* 1 package (9 ounces) chocolate wafer cookies
* 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
* 4 bars (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 4 large eggs
* 1 cup sour cream
* 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
* Blueberries, for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Assemble a 9-inch springform pan with the raised side of the bottom facing down. Alternately you can also use a pie dish.
2. In a food processor, pulse cookies until finely ground. Add butter, and pulse to moisten. Transfer to prepared pan, and press crumbs firmly and evenly into the bottom. Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet; bake 10 minutes, and set aside.
3. Wipe out bowl and blade of food processor. Add cream cheese, sugar, and salt; blend until smooth. With motor running, add eggs, then sour cream, and finally chocolate; blend filling until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
4. Pour filling onto crust, and bake just until set, 1 hour. Turn oven off, and let cheesecake sit 1 hour in oven, without opening (this helps prevent cracking).
5. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan (this helps prevent cracking, too); leave in pan, and cool completely on wire rack. Cover loosely and refrigerate, at least 6 hours or up to overnight.
Garnish with blueberries and serve!

Shrimp curry

Ingredients:

1 large onion, quartered
1 (2-inch-long) piece fresh ginger, peeled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 to 2 fresh serrano chiles, halved lengthwise
1 cup water
1 (14-oz) can unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 lb large shrimp in shell (21 to 25 per lb)

Method:
Pulse onion and ginger in a food processor until finely chopped. Cook onion mixture with salt and sugar in oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in curry powder and chilies and cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes. Stir in water, coconut milk, and lime juice and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 5 to 8 minutes.

While sauce simmers, peel shrimp (devein if desired) and season with salt and pepper. Add shrimp to sauce and simmer, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add salt to taste and garnish with coriander leaves if desired. Serve immediately.

Chicken Curry if you are in a hurry!

This is one dish where you don't have to marinade the chicken nor will it take you hours to choose and prepare the ingredients.

500gms boneless chicken diced in 3/4 inch pieces
2 medium yellow or white onions finely chopped
2 medium tomatoes finely chopped
3 tomatoes finely chopped
2 small potatoes, peeled and diced into large pieces
1/2 cup coriander leaves chopped finely for garnishing
1 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
4-5 tsp oil
1-2 tsp lemon juice
6-8 whole black peppercorns
Salt to taste

Method:

Take a pressure cooker and add oil, onions and tomatoes, ginger paste, garlic paste, turmeric powder, chicken pieces (washed), potatoes, peppercorns and lemon juice all together and stir for a few minutes. Add about 1/4 cup of water. Place the lid and let it cook for 8-10 minutes or 1 full whistle on a medium flame. Do not remove the lid and keep the pressure cooker on the same hob till the contents are cooled. This is because after you switch the gas off, the chicken will continue to cook on the heat of the same hob. Now open the lid and start the gas on low flame. At this point if you want the consistency of your curry more thin, add a little water. Let it boil and then add the salt according to your taste. And finally you can garnish with coriander leaves. Your quick and easy chicken recipe is ready to serve.

Cabbage Stir-fry with Shrimp

When in Kolkata I always refused to eat the soggy cabbage dishes. But after trying a couple of recipes, I just fell in love with the crispiness and freshness of cabbage when stir-fried with the minimum of extraneous ingredients. I hope you love this dish as much as I do.

Ingredients:

1 Cabbage, cut into julienne pieces
1 Onion(preferably yellow), finely chopped
8-10 small shrimps
2 chilies, finely chopped
Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1 tbsp oil


Method:
Take a medium sized wok and heat the oil. Stir in the onions and fry till slightly softened. Add the shrimp and cook on medium heat till the shrimp turns pink. Add the cabbage and the chilies. Add the salt and pepper and stir till the cabbage is just cooked but not mushy or too soft.

Serve it hot with fried chicken. Yum!