Nutella filled Chocolate Cupcake with Nutella Frosting - My first Guest Post

Have you ever felt weak at your knees....it happens when.....you experience something amazing........when you get a glimpse of someone you have been waiting to see for a long time......when you are kissed like you have never been kissed before.......oh ya it also happens when you are shit scared.......But...in my case......my knees did go weak when I had a bite of this crazzzy crazzzyyyy yumilicious  Nutella cupcake......I seriously got turned on....like seriously....or should I say in my sister Neetu's words 'My mouth had an organism' - -read it any way you want to.....If you get it- GOOD......if you don't EVEN BETTER.

I think I better give this post an 'A' rating

I am guest posting at Priya Sreerams fabulous blog Bon Appetit for this month, I felt this was the best recipe I could share with Priya and her readers.....coz these Nutella cupcakes are so ME.

Iam really glad  to be doing this guest post...I would like to thank Priya for this opportunity....it is very much appreciated :)

For the recipe please visit Priya's Blog  and do not forget to check out her amazing collection of recipes.

Chocolate cupcakes waiting to be filled.

Drool worthy.... cupcakes filled with sinful Nutella....they look so happy.

Complete the cupcakes with Nutella frosting.....ooooooo.......can't wait to make more of these.....its like they have a life of their own.

Ratna aunty's biryani- guest post

In the month of April, I had put up a post about the World Cup Final.I had also put up few pictures of the biryani my aunt had made that day.I did not put up the recipe(I wanted to try it out myself first),after few months I moved back to India from Bahrain, and I never got the chance to try out Ratna aunty's biryani.Everyone in  my house loves my mom's biryani ,I did not have the nerve to try something new, I knew I would have to hear the comparison.

I have to tell you that I have not tried out this recipe, I was just a spectator when Ratna Aunty was making this delicious biryani and I wrote down the whole recipe then and there. I would have waited for months  to try this recipe and post it,but one of my viewers Sunita wanted to make this biryani. This one is for Sunita :)

I would like to thank Ratna aunty for sharing this recipe, I have learnt so much from her, she is like a mother to me and also an amazing friend.I miss you Ratna aunty:)

ingredients
print this recipe

• 1 kg chicken
• 3 medium onion (sliced)
• 7 tbsp oil
• 4 tbsp yogurt
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt to taste
• 5 tbsp coriander leaves (chopped)
• 1/4 cup water add few strands of saffron
• 1/4 cup water add pinch of red color (optional)

for masala

• 1 cardamom
• 4 cloves
• 2 inch cinnamon
• 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 pinch methi seeds/fenugreek
• 10 peppercorns
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• 1/2 tsp saunf
• 8 long chillies (kashmiri)

for rice

• 4tbsp ghee
• 2 onion finely sliced
• 4 green chillies
• whole spices- 2 cardamom, 4 peppercorn, 1 bay leaf, 3 cloves,1/2 inch cinnamon, 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 3 cups basmati rice (washed,soaked and drained)
• 5 1/2 cup water
• salt to taste

method

1. Grind all the ingredients under masala into a fine powder. Keep this aside.
2. In a pan add 4 tbsp oil ,when hot fry 3 sliced onion till they turn crisp and golden brown,Drain and keep aside.
3. To the same oil add chicken and salt and cook for 10 minutes.Transfer the chicken to a vessel and add 4 tbsp yogurt, turmeric powder and 1/2 of the fried onions.Keep this aside.
4. Add 3 tbsp oil into the pan (the same pan the chicken was cooked in ) , when oil is hot add chopped tomatoes and ginger garlic paste, fry for 3 minutes.Now add the ground masala powder and lemon juice.Add few tablespoons of water if its dry.Fry for 3 to 4 minutes. Now add chicken(mixed with yogurt, turmeric and fried onions).Cook for 5 to 6 minutes.
5. The chicken masala for biryani is ready.
6. Prepare rice--- In a thick bottom pan or rice cooker melt ghee and add sliced onion, when onion turns slight golden brown add whole spice.Fry for few seconds.Add basmati rice and fry till moisture evaporates now add 5 1/2 cups of water and add salt. Cover and cook on very low flame for about 11 to 12 minutes, or till the rice is cooked and water dried out.

How to assemble

1. Divide rice to 3 parts, to one part of rice sprinkle the saffron water (don't use the whole1/4 cup, just enough to get desired color)
2. To the other part of rice sprinkle red color. and leave the 3 rd part rice plain.
3. In a big vessel layer the rice , chicken, fried onion and coriander leaves.
4. Serve with raita.

acchu's kulfi and oreo ice cream cake

My friend Acchu tried out kulfi and oreo ice cream cake

zebra cake by Anusha Gajendran -guest post

I met my school friend Anusha after 15 years, thanks to facebook, she tried the zebra cake recipe.

I was so happy seeing the cake pictures.Thank you Anusha you just lifted  my spirit :)

Acchu's chocolate mousse

My friend Archana tried out the chocolate mousse recipe for a party, It was soooooooooo good,none of us could resist ....... we had our dessert before dinner.
thank you acchu,the chocolate mousse was amazing.

WHAT A MATCH

That was some match, I was a little superstitious, I wanted to do exactly what I did on the day of India Pak match. I wore blue, went to the Navaratna house, sat on the same spot where I sat on the day of the semi finals, but with little hope.When it came to a point where I thought we were not going to win,I just changed spots.But in the last 10 overs I just went crazy,ran back to the same spot, made everyone sit exactly where they were sitting on the day of the India Pak match, I even went to extent of telling my husband to leave coz he was not there with us when we were watching the semi finals and then what happens  'THE WORLD CUP' yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

                       My husband was the good luck charm :)

Congratulations everyone, what a victory.

And not to forget the food. Amazing chicken biryani by Ratna Aunty

I shall put up the recipe of this biryani after I have tried it out myself.

Until then celebrate :)