Cinnamon Crisps

A microwave recipe that I saw at Cakes And More .  Nice and simple.  If you like rusks but hate the cardamommy flavour that most of the store bought ones have - than you should try this.  And you can experiment with them.  Make it with brown or white bread.  And great use of stale bread that might be just lying there.

Ingredients -
Brown Bread - 4 slices - you can use white too
Unsalted butter - 1 tbsp
Powdered sugar - 2 tbsp
Cinnamon Powder - 1/2 tsp

Mix the butter, sugar and cinnamon.  Apply on both sides of the slices.
Stack the slices.  And cut them into vertical strips. Four strips - 16 in all
Even sized strips ensure even cooking.

Take a microwave safe plate.  Place the strips only along the perimeter of the plate.
Do not place anything in the centre and those would cook faster and you could end up with some burnt ones.
(So you may need to make them in batches - maybe 3 or more)

Set the microwave on high for 2 - 2 1/2 minutes.  Keep a close eye as anything done in the microwave to avoid burnt sticks.
Take the plate out.  Even if they seem soft, they will harden as they cool.

Remove from plate and cool thoroughly if you have enough left to store.  And keep them in an airtight container.

A tip from Cakes and More- you can make savoury ones too.  Use herbs and salt in the butter instead of sugar.  If you do like cardamom, replace cinnamon with it.  You can experiment and have the best home made crisps in record time.  Original recipe - here 

Making a snack of Corn on the Cob

There is a huge surplus of corn on the cob or so it appears.  And going cheap.  So I picked some.  And when I thought I would pop it into the pressure cooker like we had it as kids , I found this easy way out.  Steamed corn in 3 minutes flat in the microwave.  Ok maybe not 3, since you would need to cool it a little bit ... about 5 minutes.

Just pop the corn into the microwave.

Heat on high for 3/4 minutes ( if it is just one - preferable to do it one at a time)

Despite the aroma of the corn wafting through the kitchen, resist the impulse to touch the corn.  There would be steam trapped within the husk

Allow to cool.  Pick it up with the help of a kitchen glove.  Slowly peel open - it opens easily now.

And then bite into corn that could very well have been steamed.  If you want to indulge.  Smear a little butter and then dip half a lime into salt and rub that over it too.   And enjoy

Chocolate Cake in a Mug

Just 2 minute cooking time, almost as quick as making Maggi Noodles.  Recipe from Edible Garden.   And it was so good that I ended up making quite a few mug cakes.

And if you want to plate it - it makes no difference to the taste, you could even serve it with a dollop of whipped cream, ice-cream, custard or whatever

Sorry, could not resist having a bite of the cake before taking the photograph.

And now the recipe:


Ingredients:
This serves 2
Refined flour - 4 tbsp
Sugar - 5 tbsp
Butter - 3 tbsp
Cocoa unsweetened - 2 tbsp
Egg - 1
Milk - 4 tbsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Vanilla essence - 1/4 tsp
Salt - pinch

*Beat the egg in a small bowl and keep ready

*Use 2 mugs - microwave safe - that can at least hold 250 ml since the cake will rise

*To each mug - add half the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and sugar.  Stir till blended with a fork

*Add half the amount to each mug of - milk, butter, vanilla essence

*Mix well

*Add half the whisked egg to each mug and blend once again till the whole mixture is well mixed.  If the mixture appears too thick just add a little milk.

*Put one mug at a time into the microwave and on medium heat ( in my Samsung microwave I used 60% heat) for 2 minutes. Just keep an eye to see it does not over flow

*At the end of two minutes your cake is ready.  And it is amazing.  Try it.

Some variations/tips suggested  from Nags of Edible Garden -
1. You could use refined oil instead of butter
2. Use brown sugar instead of white
3. For eggless version replace with 3 tbsp of yogurt
4. Do not use convection mode of microwave
5. If you want your cake a little sticky - then you could stop cooking it as soon as you notice it turning a little like a brownie - as it tends to cook a little more as it cools down.

ENJOY!

Instant Mysore Pak - Microwave Method

Not quite the original but quicker and makes for an instant sweet when you have guests. Will work on it again, but want it recorded here for further tweaking of recipe.

Besan – ½ cup

Sugar – powdered – 1 cup ( I added slightly lesser)

Ghee – ½ cup

Milk – 2 tsp

First lightly roast the besan in a pan with a teaspoon of ghee – till the raw taste is lost ( you can do it in the microwave, but you will have to be extra careful that it does not burn)

Grease a plate and keep ready

Take a microwave safe bowl. Put the ghee in it and microwave on high for till it melts

Add the rest of the ingredients.

Microwave on high for about 2 ½ minutes.  Every 40 secs or so, pause and stir the mixture to incorporate some air.

The mixture will begin to bubble.

Pour into greased plate.  While still warm cut into diagonal squares.

When cool the pieces will separate easily.

Store. 

Yes, it is as simple as it reads!!

Microwave Recipe 2 - Quick Chocolate Pudding.

I adapted the recipe from here - and I would recommend you have a look there, I went slightly berserk with the decoration and quite made a mess of it.  But a simple recipe to make.  I would prefer making it on the stove, since I had to be careful the contents did not spill over in the microwave, which had to be frequently paused and stirred.  I also in the process, took the dish out a little earlier than I should have.  But all in all, a tasty, simple, easy to make dish, especially if you have to satisfy a sweet tooth ( in this case, mine).

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup use unsweetened cocoa preferably
1 Tbsp butter   
1/2 cup brown/white sugar - I reduced this since I used drinking chocolate instead of cocoa
1 1/2 cups milk
Pinch of salt  - ( I omitted this since I used salted butter)
3 Tbsp cornflour
few drops vanilla extract  (optional )
nuts for garnishing (optional)

In a microwave-safe bowl, mix together sugar, salt, cocoa and cornstarch/cornflour
Add milk a little at a time and mix. Ensure no lumps remain
Place in the microwave, and cook for 2 minutes on high.
Keep stirring at 1 min intervals.
Till mixture is thick ( like custard ).  It will thicken further on cooling - may take 5-7 mins
Stir in essence and the butter and mix again.
Chill in the refrigerator and serve cold, garnish before serving.

Bitter Gourd Fry - Microwave Recipe

Got this recipe from Red Chillies 
Bitter Gourd ( Karela) - 250 gms - cut into rings
Oil - to coat ( I used chilie infused olive oil) - and this method does not require as much oil as the regular deep frying method
Chilie powder - to taste
Salt - to taste
Coriander powder (dhania) - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp ( optional)

Take about 2 tbsp of oil, add salt, turmeric, dhania and chilie powder.  Mix.
Drop the cut bitter gourd into this mixture and make sure the vegetable get well coated.
Place without overlapping on a plate.
Put in microwave for about 2 minutes.
Take out - stir so that the cooking gets done evenly.
Do this at 2 minute intervals a few more times.
Add a little more oil - just drop about a tbsp from above so that it roughly covers all the pieces - by now the bitter gourd should have shrunk to half.
Place back into microwave till the pieces are crisp.

Cooking time - 12 - 15 minutes..  Do not store .  Have it immediately.  Can get chewy if left awhile.