Seven-star chicken

marinade:
1 kg chicken,
red chili powder 2-31/2 tsp, depending on the hotness and preference
turmeric 1/2 tsp
coriander powder 2 tsp
garam masala 4 tsp
roasted brown zeera 1 1/2 tsp
ginger-garlic paste 2 tbsp
greek yoghurt or hung curd, half cup
vinegar 2 tbspp
salt 1 tbsp
javitri-jaiphal, grated, 1/4 tsp
dressing:
 salted butter 4 tbsp
fresh cream, 1/2 cup
garlic, 5 cloves, crushed
green chilies, 2, crushed
fresh coriander, finely chopped, 3/4 cup
salt, 1/4 tsp, or to taste

method:
Combine all spices in the marinade section and make even incisions over all pieces of the chicken with fork or slit with a knife. Add the chicken to the spices and mix and coat well. Set aside for 4-5 hours or leave overnight.
2 hours before the dish is to be served, heat the oven to 200 degrees C and distribute the chicken pieces in an oven-proof tray. Once in the oven, leave the pieces be for half an hour, after which, turn the heat to 180 and take out the tray and turn the chicken pieces over. Put the tray back inside till the chicken is tender to your preference. Turn the oven off.

Meanwhile, blend in the butter in the fresh cream and add the other ingredients to it. Mix well and set aside.

Once the chicken is tender, take the pieces out in a serving dish and pour the dressing over the pieces and serve, either as a starter or with naan or sheermal.
[optional] For tandoori flavor, once the chicken is out of oven, over stove flame, with the help of a pair of tongs, burn the chicken pieces till golden brown and then place them on the serving dish and pour the dressing over it. Serve.

1 b elaichi
Long
Dar chini
Kali mirich
Adrak
Mircha Lesan

Aalu
Mircha lesan
Haldi
Matar

Double chocolate Danish

For the dough

175ml warm milk1 egg, beaten450g strong white flour1 sachet fast-action dried yeast50g golden caster sugar250g block cold butter, sliced

For the filling

200g toasted flaked almonds50g icing sugar25g cocoa powder50g butter, softened1 egg white50g dark chocolate, chopped into small places

For the glaze

1 egg yolk3 tbsp milkgolden caster sugar, for sprinkling

For the icing

50g icing sugar

Make the dough a day ahead if you have time. Beat the milk and egg in a jug. Put the flour, yeast, sugar and butter in a food processor with a pinch of salt. Pulse until the mix starts to come together, but is still flecked with pieces of butter. Tip into a bowl and use your hands to work in the contents of the jug. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, knead slightly, then roll out to a rectangle and fold the two short sides over so the edges meet in the middle, then fold into the middle again. Roll out and fold twice more, flouring the surface as you work. Cover the dough with cling film, then rest it in the fridge for at least 4 hrs or overnight.For the filling, tip 150g of the almonds into a food processor with the icing sugar and cocoa powder and blitz until combined. Add the butter and egg white, pulse to a paste, then fold in the chocolate and set aside.Split the dough in two and press one half into the base of a 23cm non-stick springform cake tin. Spread the filling over the middle of the dough, leaving a border, and top with the remaining dough. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for about an hour.Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Beat the egg yolk with the milk and brush over the top to glaze. Sprinkle with the remaining almonds and a little caster sugar and bake for 40-50 mins until puffed up and golden. Leave to cool for an hour. Mix the icing sugar with a few drops cold water to make a runny icing and drizzle it over the cake. Serve in wedges with coffee, or with ice cream for dessert.

Lemon shortbread

125g butter, room temperature180g plain flour1 tsp lemon zest2 drops of lemon extract (optional)65g caster sugar, plus more for sprinkling on top of the shortbreads

1) Preheat the oven to 150°C/ gas mark 2.

2) Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the lemon zest and essence.

3) Sift in the flour and roughly combine. Using your hands, bring the mixture together to form a dough. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

4) Remove from the fridge, roll out on a floured surface to around 3-5mm in thickness. Cover the disc in cling film and return to the fridge for a further 15 minutes.

5) Using a heart-shaped cookie cutter (or any other cutter you may want to use), cut out your shortbread shapes. Place on a greased and lined baking sheet and, using a fork, prick holes into your shapes. Cut larger holes in the top if you wish to tie them with a pretty ribbon once cooled.

6) Sprinkle with sugar and bake for around 12-14 minutes.

7) Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Tie with ribbon, if using.

Note: Don't let your shortbreads brown too much (a little golden tinge around the edges is fine). If you find they're overbrowning, turn your oven down and bake on the bottom rack for a little while longer.

Lemon ginger shortbread

100g salted butter, softened, plus a little extra for greasing50g golden caster sugar, plus extra for dustingzest 1 large lemon8 pieces of crystallised ginger, finely chopped175g plain flour

Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2 and grease a 22cm loose-bottomed fluted tart tin. Put the butter in a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until soft. Beat in the sugar, then stir in the lemon zest and ginger.Stir in the flour and work with your hands to form a soft dough. Tip into the tin and press into an even, flat layer with your fingers. Prick all over with a fork and bake in the oven for 40 mins until pale gold. Cut into wedges then leave to cool completely in the tin. Remove from the tin and dust with caster sugar to serve.

Hazelnut cookies

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup hazelnuts (2 oz)1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

PREPARATION

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Toast hazelnuts in a shallow baking pan until fragrant and skins begin to loosen, about 6 minutes. Rub nuts in a kitchen towel to remove any loose skins (some skins may not come off) and cool to room temperature.

Pulse nuts and 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor until nuts are finely ground, then add flour and a pinch of salt, pulsing until combined. Add butter and pulse until dough just forms a ball. Divide dough in half, then roll dough on a work surface lightly dusted with sugar and flour into 2 (11-inch-long) logs (each about 1 inch wide). Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, 1 hour.

Cut logs crosswise into 1/2-inch slices and arrange rounds 2 inches apart on 2 baking sheets.

Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until bottom edges just begin to turn pale golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies on sheet 2 minutes. Place remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in a small dish and dip tops of cookies in it, then cool sugared cookies on a rack.

Orange almond shortbread

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature1 cup confectioners' sugar3/4 teaspoon almond extract1/2 teaspoon salt2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)Grated zest of 1 orange (about 2 teaspoons)3/4 cup sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS

Make the dough: In a mixer bowl, beat butter, sugar, almond extract, and salt until smooth. With mixer on low speed, add flour and orange zest; mix just until a dough forms. With a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, or your hands, gently mix in almonds.

Freeze the dough: On a piece of waxed paper, form dough into a rectangular log, 12 inches long, 2 1/2 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. Wrap log in the paper, and freeze until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 months. If freezing longer than 1 day, wrap log again, in plastic wrap.

Bake the shortbread: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove dough from freezer. (If dough has been in freezer a long time and is frozen solid, let it sit at room temperature 30 minutes so it slices without crumbling.)

With a sharp knife, cut dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheet at least 1 inch apart. Bake until edges just begin to turn golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet; transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely.

Chocolate syrup

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup good quality unsweetened cocoa powder1 cup granulated sugar1 cup cold water1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)1 tablespoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cocoa powder and sugar until blended. Add the water and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and whisk over medium heat until boiling, stirring constantly.Continue boiling until mixture thickens, about 3 - 4 minutes. The mixture will still be fairly thin (it thickens to a syrup-like consistency once cool). Taste and stir in additional salt until dissolved, up to 1/4 teaspoon, if desired.Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Cool.Store syrup in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator. The syrup should keep, refrigerated, for at least a month.

Pound Cake with butterscotch sauce

½ cup all purpose flour
⅜cup cake flour
¼ tsp baking powder
⅜ tsp kosher salt
⅜ cup butter, room temperature
½+⅛ cup light brown sugar
1egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
⅜ cup heavy cream

Salted Butterscotch Sauce

⅛ cup salted butter
¼ cup dark brown sugar
¼cup heavy cream
¼ tsp - ½ tsp kosher salt (depending on taste preference)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 170°. Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment so that the two ends overhang the sides of the pan and spray again. Set aside.Whisk together both flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside.In bowl of stand mixer cream together butter and brown sugar 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add in eggs and yolks, one at a time, mixing between each addition. Add in vanilla and mix until smooth, scraping sides as needed.Add in flour and heavy cream in alternating additions, starting and ending with flour. Mix until just smooth. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 55-60 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. If edges begin to brown too much before center is set tent with foil.Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes and then remove to cool completely on wire rack. The parchment comes in handy here to pull out the cake.

Butterscotch Sauce

In small saucepan melt 4 Tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When butter is melted add in dark brown sugar, heavy cream and ½ tsp salt. Bring to a soft boil and allow to boil for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and taste sauce, adding more salt if desired. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes and then pour on cake.As sauce cools it will thicken. Pour over pound cake

Butterscotch Cake with Caramel Hazelnut

Ingredients

175g unsalted butter

175g self-raising flour

1tsp baking powder

3 eggs

100g golden caster sugar

75g light muscovado sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

 

Frosting

500g mascarpone

1 tbsp black treacle

1 tbsp golden syrup

2 tbsp light muscovado

 

Caramel Whisps

30 blanched hazelnuts

Wooden skewers

110g caster sugar

 

Heat your oven to 180c/170c fan/gas 4 and prepare two 20cm sandwich tins by buttering the sides and lining the bottom. The cake is then easy to make, just sift the flour and baking powder together before adding the remaining ingredients. Mix well but don't over-mix and then divide between the sandwich tins and cook for 20-25 minutes before cooling on a wire rack.

 

To make the frosting you just literally just need to beat all the ingredients together. This frosting might not be for everyone, so you could also use toffee buttercream.

 

For the wisps, put the sugar and water into a heavy based saucepan and then put over a low heat, stir with a metal spoon until all the sugar crystals have dissolved and then turn up the heat so the sugar mixture is boiling, at this stage who should not stir it at all. Leave to boil until the caramel turns a deep amber colour. During this process just pop your hazelnuts onto a baking tray and put them in the oven for 5 minutes on 170c.

When cooled, insert a skewer into each hazelnut. When the caramel is ready you can then dip each one in and ensure it is liberally covered. Place the end of the skewer under a heavy board and a long whisp should form which will take about 5 minutes to harden. One tip though...make sure you place some newspaper on the floor!

Mascarpone substitute

 

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup heavy cream  
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 226 grams  

Butterscotch

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup of tightly packed dark brown sugar
• ¾ cup heavy whipping cream (not ultra-pasteurized)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Method

Butterscotch takes about a half an hour to make, from start to finish.
1 First, before you begin, make sure you have everything ready to go - the cream and the brown sugar next to the pan, measured and waiting. Making butterscotch is a fast process that cannot wait for hunting around for ingredients.
2 In a heavy bottomed stainless steel 2 quart saucepan, melt butter over low to medium heat. Just before butter is melted, add all dark brown sugar at once and stir with wooden spoon until sugar is uniformly wet.

3 Stir infrequently until mixture goes from looking grainy to molten lava. Make sure to get into the corners of your pot, and watch closely to notice how the mixture changes. It will take about 3 to 5 minutes.

4 Right before you add the cream, the caramelizing brown sugar will begin to look and feel more like liquid and less like thick wet sand.
5 At this point add all the cream at once and replace your spoon with a whisk. Lower heat a little and whisk cream into mixture. When liquid is uniform, turn heat back to medium and whisk every few minutes for a total of 10 minutes.

6 After liquid has been boiling on the stove for its 10 minutes, turn heat off and let rest for a minute or two before transferring into a heatproof storage vessel. (I prefer a stainless steel or glass bowl.) Cool to room temperature.

7 When butterscotch liquid is room temperature, take a small taste. It's important to know what cooked brown sugar and butter tastes like, and what happens when transforming that flat sweetness into real butterscotch flavor. Whisk in half the salt and vanilla extract. Taste again. Add more salt and vanilla extract until the marvelous taste of real butterscotch is achieved.

Butterscotch makes a fantastic topping for ice cream.
Chill butterscotch sauce in a non-reactive container with a tightly fitting lid only after sauce has chilled completely. It will keep for one month refrigerated, that is if you can keep from eating it all the moment it has cooled down and been seasoned to your liking.

Lost-and-Found Lemon/orange Poundcake

Ingredients

• Baking spray
• 1 pound/454 grams good-quality butter
• 1 pound/4 cups/460 grams confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon lemon extract, or 1 tablespoon lemon juice plus the finely grated zest of one lemon
• 3 cups/360 grams Swans Down or other cake flour
• ½ teaspoon/4 grams baking soda
• 8 large eggs, separated while cold, then brought to room temperature
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Generously spray a heavy 10-inch Bundt or straight-sided angel food cake pan with baking spray.
2. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Slowly add confectioners’ sugar and beat for several minutes, until the mixture is satiny. Add sour cream, vanilla and lemon flavoring and mix well.
3. Sift the flour and baking soda. Add 1 cup of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well. Mix in half the egg yolks, followed by another cup of flour, then the remaining yolks and finally the rest of the flour. Do not overmix or the cake will be tough. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters and do the final mixing by hand.
4. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Gently add the whites to the batter, folding them in with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula and barely mixing everything together.
5. Scrape the batter evenly into the pan, rotating it as you go and twisting it to level the batter. Rap the pan sharply on the countertop about 30 times, rotating the pan slightly each time, to eliminate any air pockets.
6. Bake for 30 minutes. If the cake is getting too brown on top, turn the oven down to 300 degrees, then test again in 15 minutes. The cake is done when the top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes to 1 hour in all. Be careful to not underbake.
7. Cool on a rack until the pan is easily handled. Run a knife around the rim and center tube and invert the cake onto the rack to cool completely. Transfer the cake to a serving plate or a cake stand. Dust with confectioners' sugar.