Vodka & Red Bull Christmas Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1 cup of brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp saltLemon Juice

4 large eggs

Nuts

1 bottle of Vodka

1 can of Red Bull

2 cups dried fruit

Method:

1. Sample the vodka to check the quality.

2. Take a large bowl, check the vodka again.

3. To be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and mix with a little red bull and drink.

4. Repeat.

5. Turn on the electric mixer, beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

6. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again.

7. At this point it is best to make sure the vodka is still ok.

8. Flavour with red bull to taste.

9. Try another cup - just in case turn off the mixerer.

10. Break two leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.

11. Pick fruit off floor

12. Mix on the turner.

13. If the dried fruit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry it loose with a drewscriver.

14. Shample the vodka to check for tonsisticitity, flavour with a little Bed Rull.

15. Next ssiffft two cups of salt. Or something ... Who giveshz a shi**

16. Throw a pinch of Bed Rull over your shoulder

17. Pick up the can, mop the floor

18. Check the vodka

19. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.

20. Add one table.

21. Add a shpoon of shugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.

22. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over..

23. Don't forget to beat off the turner

24. Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the vodka and kick the dog.

25. Fall into bed.

CHERRY MISTMAS

- thanks to diyya ninan (who tried, tested and survived)

watchamacallit

A lazy sunday afternoon brunch drink

Tall Jar- 1 or 2 depending on the no. of guests

Ice- 5 trays

Red wine- not the very expensive variety- you'll soon know why

Oranges- roughly chopped up into big pieces 1/4th. jar

Sprite or 7 up

Fill 1/4th. of the tall jar with the oranges. Put the ice in until you reach the 1/2 mark of the jar.

Pour in the red wine until a little more than half jar. Top with Sprite.

I saw this on Olivers Twist. Didn't catch the name though....

Cheesecake (the easy lazy way)

You need:

A microwave oven

A flat glass pie dish (about 8" dia and 2" deep)

1/3 cup butter

450 gms cream cheese/paneer

2 hundred gm packets of cream crackers

3 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

A nice slosh of dark rum

What to do:

Melt the butter in the pie dish. Do not let it cook, just heat it til it starts to get runny.

Now blend in the cracker crumbs til you have a mouldable dough. You should be able to shape it easily. Pack this evenly along the sides and bottom of the pan, making a shell.

Place the cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl and heat just until it softens. Beat it until its smooth. It helps to use a mixie with a blending blade but you can also use a fork.

Mix in the eggs, sugar, vanilla and rum and blend them in well.

Pour into the cracker shell and place in the centre of the microwave oven.

Cook for 8 mins rotating the dish a half turn manually every 2 mins if your microwave doesn't have a self rotating tray.

The centre will still be soft when you remove the pie. Let it set and refrigerate.

Serve with slices of mango.

:)

P.S. Serves about 8 decent sized slices. If you halve the recipie, do not halve the crackers and butter as the pie shell will still need to be the same depending on the dish.

sunshine in a white ceramic bowl

Pour Bagry's muesli into a cool ceramic bowl

Slice in banana, strawberries (if they're in season)

A slice of fig

5 almonds

1 walnut

Honey (if you like it sweet)

Pour cold milk

Slurp up

There. Now you don't have to eat for the rest of the day :)

moroccan prawns

Ooohhh...this is really simple and yummy too, if you are a seafoodie. You can serve this as an entree or just have it with a couple of beers or a glass of wine.

Ingredients:

Cumin powder- 1 tsp

Jeera powder- 1/2 tsp

Pepper (freshly ground)- 1 tsp

Paprika (or red chilli) powder- 1 tsp

Cloves and Cinnamon powder- 1 tbsp

Oil- to sauté

Medium size prawns - 500g washed and peeled with the tails in place

How to:

Mix all the spice powders together. Heat oil in a shallow pan, on low flame. When hot enough toss 1n the spice powder mixture and sizzle over medium heat. Do not burn to a crisp. Toss in the prawns and stir fry with a wooden spoon. The spices should be just enough to coat the prawns. Stir till prawns turn pink. Serve with a wedge of lime and mint/parsley for garnishing.

How to buy fish at the fish market

1. Poke the body - If it's soft and squidgy, give the fishmonger a dirty look. Good fish always has a firm body.

2. Check the eyes - If it's dull and murky, give it a miss. The fishmonger will know that you are a discerning fish lover and pull out better fish.

3. How pink are the gills - lift the flap, if the gills are dark and veering on black, walk away. The fishmonger will call you back with the freshest catch with fresh pink gills.

(Courtesy: Mrs Gouri Majumdar)

Super Easy Hummus

INGREDIENTS:

500 gms chick peas, soaked overnight and drained.

2 middle sized cloves of garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons jeera powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

A little liquid curd (tastes nicer if its slightly sour)

Chilli/ Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Put every thing into the food processor and blend on low speed.

Gradually add the liquid curd, until you get the desired consistency.

Adjust salt if required and add pepper to your taste.

Put on toast or crackers and act swank with your friends!

simble green gram thoren

simble = mal for simple

green gram = we all know

thoren = a poriyal types/ dry stir fry

Stuff:

- a coffee mug full of greengram (soak it overnight)

- a pinch of saffron

- a handful of grated coconut

- a table spoon of coconut oil

- green chilli (3 - 4)

- dry red chilli (2 -3)

- garlic (5 - 6)

- curry patta (12)

- mustard (enough to make a circle in the middle of your palm)

- salt (enough to make a quarter of the circle above)

Do:

Pressure-cook the green gram. Two whistles should do.

While this is pressure-cooking, take a tawa and splutter (the mustard, green chilli, red chilli, garlic and saffron powder) on a low flame.

Add the pressure-cooked green gram to this.

Heap the grated coconut onto it.

Mix well.

Simmer for a minute to dry up any extra water.

Ta- da!

Goes well with:

- Red Rice

- Chappatis and curd

Cheesy Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients

Eggs (as many as you like)

Cheese Spread

Milk

Salt to taste

Garnish (if required)

Basil

Chilli Flakes

Method:

Crack and drop yolk and white into a wide bowl.

Whisk rapidly. Add generous amounts of cheese spread.

Whisk again. Add three to four tablespoons of milk.

Whisk some more. Add salt to taste.

Slap on butter in a shallow pan. Add the egg mixture.

Scramble. Garnish if required.