Rich Rum Fruit Cake

I wanted to try a different fruit cake this Christmas and hence was looking for the perfect recipe. Finally, while browsing through various interesting blogs on the internet, I came across this particular recipe which really caught my attention. I wanted to give it a try. I must say that I have found the perfect Christmas fruit cake which is so moist and delicious.

Here is the link to this recipe http://www.ecurry.com/blog/desserts/rich-rum-fruit-cake-for-a-very-merry-christmas/

I am sure you all are going to enjoy this Rich Rum Fruit Cake as much as I do.

Sweet Corn Chicken Soup

This is one of my favorite Indo Chinese soup. I order it all the time at restaurants. This soup hardly takes any time to make if you have ready chicken stock with you. But, I wanted to make the stock at home. The homemade stock gives the soup a nice taste.

Preparation time: 20-30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Chicken Stock:

1 small packet of chicken drumsticks (about 12 small pieces)

1 cup celery chopped

1 tsp finely chopped ginger

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

2 carrots diced

1 onion diced

salt to taste

4 cups of water

1 can of cream style sweet corn

1/2 cup of cooked shredded chicken

1 egg beaten

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp of green chilli sauce

2 tbsp of hot and sweet chilli sauce

2 stalk of green onion diced

3 tbsp of corn starch dissolved i a little water

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp pepper powder

1 tsp chilli flakes

salt to taste

Method:

• Put all the ingredients for the chicken stock in a pressure cooker and close the lid and cook on medium heat for 2-3 whistles or until the chicken is cooked.
• Strain the liquid from the cooker in a large bowl
• Keep the cooked chicken pieces and separate the chicken from the bone, shred it nicely and discard the veggies.
• In a big bowl, combine the stock with the cream style sweet corn.
• To this add, salt, pepper, chilli flakes, all the sauces and bring it to a boil
• When you see it boiling, add the shredded cooked chicken to it.
• Then add the beaten egg slowly and keep stirring until the eggs form fine threads in the soup.
• Finally, add the cornstarch and you will see the soup thickening.
• Let it cook for 2 minutes and then you can take it out and garnish it with some sesame oil, green chillies soaked in vinegar and diced green onions.

Note: You can make the vegetarian version by using vegetable stock and using cooked vegetables instead of shredded chicken.

Rose Cookies

The holiday season is on and soon it is going to be Christmas. Love this season, especially here in Canada. It is so beautiful to see the houses and malls decorated and also the experience of a white Christmas. Simply amazing!!! This year I decided to start my Christmas sweets by making rose cookies first. This is something that I have tried for the first time. I remember my mom making this for us every Christmas and they were so delicious and crispy that most of it was over the minute she made it :)

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Makes: Approx. 50-60 rose cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 kg all purpose flour (sieve and keep it aside)

1 tin of coconut milk

3 eggs (beaten well)

350 gms of finely powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

1/2 tsp nutmeg powder

a pinch of salt

oil for deep frying

Method:

• Mix the coconut milk and the sugar together in a bowl. Make sure that the sugar has dissolved well in the coconut milk.
• To this add the beaten eggs and mix well.
• Then, add the salt, vanilla essence, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder
• Finally, add the all purpose flour little by little, thereby mixing the batter well with the spoon in order to ensure that no lumps are formed
• The consistency of the batter should be neither too thick or too thin. If you find it too thick, you can adjust the batter by adding a little water to it.
• Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan and while doing that, insert the rose cookie form (easily available in the specialty stores) in the oil and let it heat simultaneously.
• When the oil and the form is hot enough, take the form out from the oil and dip 3/4th of the form in the batter and quickly dip it in the hot oil moving it slightly. You will see the batter leaving the form.
• Repeat the procedure again quickly and fry them for 3-4 seconds on either side and take them out and drain the oil from the rose cookies.
• Always make sure that the form is hot enough before dipping it into the batter, else it won't hold the batter.
• Crispy rose cookies are ready to eat.
• Store them in an airtight container.