Sugar N Spice

Sunday, November 19, 2017

12:26 AM

Super Moist Carrot Cake - Lactose Free

Sharing my recipe for Carrot cake. Like to use seasonal produce in my cooking and baking. You will always get the best taste when you use seasonal produce.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot cake can be sometimes compact and heavy and sometimes dry. I have a foolproof recipe for super moist carrot cake. And this recipe is lactose-free as well .

Ingredients

All-purpose flour (hvetmel)- 2 cups
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Baking Soda - 2 tsp
Egg - 3
Oil - 1- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
White sugar - 1 cup
Brown sugar - 1 cup
Carrot - 3 cups grated
Vanilla essence - 2 tsp
Cardamom - 3 tsp
Cinnamon - 3 tsp
Nutmeg - 1.5 tsp
Lemon and orange juice - 5 tbsp
Lemon and orange zest - 1 tbsp
Pecan diced and Toasted - 1 cup

Frosting (For lactose intolerance, use lactose-free dairy products below)
Cream Cheese - 280 grams
Butter - 75 grm
Powdered sugar - 5 tbsp ( less or more as per your taste)
Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C on fan setting.

2. Grease and flour 8-inch round pan and line the bottom with parchment paper
3. Sieve flour with all the dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl beat egg, sugar, and oil until fluffy.
4. Then add carrot, vanilla essence, lemon juice and zest and mix it well.

5. Add dry ingredients and at last, add pecans and mix well.

Tips: Usually when we add nuts to the cake it sunk in the bottom of the cake to avoid this save some flour and cover the nuts with flour and add it to the mixture at last.

6. Bake at 180 degrees C for approx 35-40 minutes. Check after 35 minutes with a skewer.

Frosting - Cream cheese
1. In a mixing bowl whisk cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice and whisk it until smooth.

Monday, October 30, 2017

3:42 PM

Revealing a Secret................Semifinal Day Two

Mitt Kjøkken Ruler,

One secret, I want to share here. We were not two persons participating in this contest. During the qualifying round when we were visiting other contestants houses Lopita was having episodes of stomach pain and was feeling sick. She loves fish and meat but at that time she was not liking it. She was suspecting food poisoning or stomach flu. The first qualifying round was over and we were through to next round (semifinal). Even days after finishing the shooting, she was still feeling sick. One day, I just said maybe you are pregnant, check it and yes she was. So, we were three persons (Me, Lopita and little Tavis in Lopita’s womb) in the competition.

Qualifying Round (Gustavo & Luca's Place): I was tired but Lopita was feeling sick

That was a great news but same time she was feeling nervous. Our priority completely changed after this. Her health was more important than taking part in MKR. We discussed it and decided that we will take one day at a time and if required we will pull out ourselves from the competition.

As she entered in her second trimester, she started to feel better and came out of her nausea period. She was ready to go to Oslo, but I was nervous as it was a big responsibility.

We survived the first day in semifinal and Lopita was feeling tired. But she geared up and was ready for the challenge.

Second day in studio...............

We were ready for judges to tell us about the theme or dish we will cook. As Christopher said we have to use Torsk Head (Fishhead), immediately I knew it’s Lopita who will take a lead today. She comes from the eastern region of India where Fish is an everyday staple and she had told me stories about how they prepare it on a special occasion and serve it to the main guest. Eating fish eyeballs is a delicacy in that region. I was sure that Lopita will lead the challenge today. But as we moved towards the table it was full of Torsk head (fish head), we were frightened. Lopita has handled fish head before but not that big. It was monstrously big. But there was no turning back, she was quite brave.

Shocked - Fish head (too big to handle)

We were super excited to take up this challenge. We decided to mix flavours of east and south like curry leaf, coconut, cardamom etc. in the curry based on the ingredients we had in the pantry. She started with the Fish head and I started preparing for curry. The main ingredient for curry was missing from pantry the ‘Curry leaf''. Earlier I saw it in the pantry but suddenly it vanished. I asked everybody but no one had it and we couldn’t start without curry leaf. Lopita was getting stressed and I was also feeling the pressure. Then suddenly, I turned back and saw Farid (other contestant) was holding packet of curry leaf in his hand. I think Tommy and Farid knew from the beginning how important it was for us and was playing a joke on us………………very funny :)

I just grabbed it from him and then I started with curry. We lost some time in this but managed to get back on track.

Me and Lopita have different taste palates. Sometimes it works in our favour and sometimes not. This time it was against us. Constantly we were having arguments on ingredients for curry. She is not used to adding lime, lemon or vinegar in fish curry and I always like to add sour flavour in fish curry or any dish I am making with fish. And there were few more things I wanted to add which she disagreed with. Every time when she was away from the cooking station I sneaked in one or two additional things in the curry :)

Only a few minutes were left and I decided to make Lachha Paratha (layered flat Bread). It was a risk but it paid off, paratha turned out very crispy and flaky. Lopita finished cooking fish head. But we were not sure if we should serve it whole or disintegrate it. Lopita decided to disintegrate it and removed every ounce of meat from fish head. The whole combination of fish, curry, paratha and rice was heavenly. But I still wanted to add something more, then I ran and grabbed another fish head and asked Lopita to cook it. We decided to take out the eyeball and serve it with curry. By this time, I was so comfortable handling fish head that I was helping Lopita to scoop out eyeball from fish head. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I will be doing this one day :)

We barely finished on time and when we looked around most of the other contestants had served whole head. We were nervous but sure about the taste and texture of the fish. We followed our gut instinct and believed in what we know.

Our dish was the best dish of the day. Kudos to Lise for trying eyeball :)

Monday, October 16, 2017

9:54 PM

Tandoori Chicken Fajita on Sizzler with Mint Chutney

Recipe,

Tandoori Chicken Fajita on Sizzler with Mint Chutney

Ingredients:-

Chicken Boneless - 2 Kg (for vegetarian version substitute chicken with potatoes or Paneer or Tofu)

Paprika - 2 pieces

Mushroom - 15 pieces

Red Onion - 2 medium size

Oil for grilling chicken

Marinade-

Paprika Powder – 2 tbsp

Cumin Powder - 2 tbsp

Coriander Powder – 1 tbsp

Red Chili powder – 2 tsp (optional)

Garlic Minced – 3 cloves

Lemon Juice – 2 tbsp

Vegetable Oil – 3 tbsp

Tortilla

Whole Wheat Flour – 2 cups (optional can substitute with all purpose flour)

Corn Flour (Maismel) – ¾ cup

All Purpose Flour (Hvetmel) – 1 Cup

Spinach – 250 gram

Oil – 2.5 tbsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Salt – 2 tsp

Water

Mint Chutney

Fresh Coriander Leaves – 1 cup

Mint Leaves – ½ cup

Raw Mango – 1 small size, peel and diced (you can substitute this with lime juice 1 tbsp)

Garlic – 1 clove

Ginger – ¼ inch piece

Green Chilly – 1 piece (optional)

Cumin Powder – 1 tsp

Salt – ¾ tsp

Mango Salsa

Mango – 1 big size

Red Onion – 1 big size

Tomato – 2 medium size

Salt – as per taste

Lemon Juice – 1 tbsp

Green Chilly – 2 pieces (optional)

Fresh Coriander

To serve: Cast Iron Sizzler plate

Recipe –

Marinade - Cut the chicken into stripes. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Combine chicken with marinade and set aside for 30 minutes (if possible overnight).

Spices

Tortilla Dough - Mix all the flours and salt together. Blanch the spinach and rinse it under cold water. Make the paste of spinach. Add it into flour along with oil and water. Form a dough and work with it for five minutes. Set aside for at least 15 minutes.

Tips: When you press dough, it should feel soft not too hard and not too wet. If it feels wet add little dry flour and knead it again. If it feels hard add little water and knead it again.

Mint Chutney - In a grinder add all the ingredients and grind it to form a paste. Check if coriander and mint are balanced well and adjust the taste by adding more coriander or mint.

Tips: first grind garlic, ginger, green chilli and raw mango, if needed add little water then add rest of the ingredients and grind it.

Mango Salsa: Peel and dice mango into small pieces, dice all other veggies into small pieces. Add salt, lemon, green chilli and fresh coriander.
Tortilla - Divide dough in portions into small balls. Roll tortilla dough in round shape and roll it thin. Cook it over medium heat on a preheated griddle (stekepanne) for 1 minute on each side or until you see some bubbles and brown golden spots.

Tips: if possible use cast iron griddle to cook tortilla. After cooking cover tortilla with a kitchen towel and put it in a box.

Grilled Veggies: Cut all the vegetable lengthwise and add pepper, salt and oil. Grill it until translucent and bit charred.

Tips: you can grill it on a pan or on an outdoor grill or in the oven. If you grill it on charcoal or gas grill, you get best result and taste.

Grilled Chicken: Preheat the griddle and grill the chicken with little oil on a pan for one minute each side (cooking time depends on the size of the chicken stripes). Serve it on a hot sizzler plate.

Tips: Charcoal or gas grill gives the best result.

Chicken Fajita on sizzler

Please share your views and feel free to ask any question below........

Saturday, October 14, 2017

12:58 AM

Oslo Calling......MKR Semifinal Day 1

Mitt Kjøkken Ruler,

It’s time to fly to Oslo for Semifinals. Last few days we were very busy trying new dishes, experimenting and preparing for Oslo (what to wear) :). This time we will be cooking in the studio, so need not have to worry about cleaning the kitchen after the mess :).

At Oslo airport.............

In Hotel……………

We met our old pals Helge and Svein from the qualifying round. It was a bit of relief to see familiar faces. We were taken from hotel to studio. We Couldn’t wait to see the studio and same time was nerve-racking to think about the humongous challenge we were about to face. On the way to the studio, me and Lopita didn’t speak at all. It was more scary for Lopita than me. I had some experience from Kakekrigen but honestly, I was equally nervous.

In studio………….

When we reached the studio other contestants were already there. It was very intimidating to meet these strangers. We also get to meet judges as they were getting ready for the shoot. Scary and same time honoured to meet two big shots of Norwegian food industry.

Judges talking to director

WOW, that was the first word I uttered when I saw the setup. We met director and producer of the program. As it was day one, so they briefed us about the process. They gave us a walk through of appliances, utensils, they had one of the sharpest knives in the drawer and of course along with bunch of bandages and gloves :)

MKR Studio

There were total 6 stations, as we were 6 pairs to compete against each other. We noticed there were two additional stations. That time we couldn’t understand the purpose of those station. Each station was equipped with high quality products. Appliances were super hi-fi, even the water tab was quite technical to use. They gave us some time to check the appliances by ourselves. Me and Lopita both smiled at each other, we knew it will be challenging to use these appliances in stress. We were already nervous above this we had these hi-fi gadgets. It took some time for us to understand all. But at last we were comfortable with it, kind of :)

Stations

Listening carefully to director's brief

Then we had a tour of the pantry and immediately a lot of ideas started rushing in my mind. I had to hold my horses as it was too early. Our day has just begun and we knew it will be a long day.

The telecast of the show is only for an hour but the shoot time is almost 12 hours sometimes. Bård (director) was there and he took our first interview before the cooking and made us laugh and again helped us in calming our nerves.

First interview in studio with Bård

At last, we and crew members were ready to shoot. Me and Lopita both of us were having butterflies in the stomach and was finding it hard to smile but we tried :).

Six pairs ready to compete

A lot of takes and retakes of us entering in the studio then the same was for judges. But finally, the director was happy with all the shots and time came for judges to tell us about the dish we will make. They wanted us to make a dish which reminds us of our dream vacation and we were given only one hour to prepare the dish.

We decided to make Chicken Manchurian (Kjøttboller med Kylling og grønnsaker) and fried rice. This is an Indo-Chinese fusion. In North India, we get a delicious fusion of Chinese and Indian cooking.

At first, me and Lopita were running frantically back and forth to get the ingredients and were confused. Then we paused for a minute and divided the tasks. She started chopping the vegetables and I did too and immediately I cut my finger. The knife is my enemy and as I said those knives were very sharp. Lopita’s chopping skills are better than mine. She immediately took over the task and I started preparing the chicken. Bård is always behind the camera and converse with us all the time. He was worried that half of the time was gone and we were still chopping the vegetables. We needed lots of vegetables (mushroom, capsicum, onion, spring onion, cabbage, coriander etc.) both for Manchurian (kjøttballer) and for fried rice. In the beginning me and Lopita struggled a bit with understanding each other related to chopping or cutting veggies. Though we speak the same language (Hindi and English) but we struggled. Then she asked me to show her, how I wanted veggies to be :) ……….that was better.

Christopher (judge) on our station to check the progress

When I was frying Chicken Manchurian, Bård asked me ‘don’t I have to check the temperature of oil with the thermometer?’ I smiled and said we never do that in the Indian kitchen. We have learned from our mothers that oil is ready when we feel the heat on top of the pan and if we see some fumes oil is ready to fry. It’s a full proof method :)

At one point, I was also worried that we might not finish on time but we did. As we looked around we saw they all made some amazing dishes. I was not worried as I knew our dish was full of flavours.

It was time for judges to taste................

After a long wait, Judges deliberated - Tik and Knut Åge made the best dish of the day. We also received good feedback from judges and were safe from elimination on that day. We were relieved and super happy to deliver so well.

Dag & Helle, Me & Lopita, Tommy & Farid through to next round

Bottom two pairs had to contest against each other for a place in next day competition. Losing pair had to leave the competition same day. There came the role of those two additional stations. They had to cook on those stations. We just had to sit and watch. I was feeling bad for them but same time felt relaxed and relieved.

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

10:45 PM

Mitt Kjøkken Ruler: Host of the Evening

Mitt Kjøkken Ruler,

Our Restaurant

So, finally the day has arrived when all our preparations will be put on test. I was very nervous and anxious. By 9:00 am Crew members started arriving at my place. It felt like my house was flooded with big bags, cameras, equipment’s when crew members entered my house. They started rearranging my living room and half of my attention was on them and half on the preparation for the rest of the day. But luckily my husband came to my rescue and started helping the crew. At the end of the day, it felt like he was a part of the crew J. He had solution for every problem.

Setting up the studio in my house

Flood of equipments

Flood of bags

Table is almost ready

Christina drying up camera

Light, camera .... and Action...

First thing we did was to setup the table. Vaskar (Lopita’s husband) made the logo for our restaurant ‘’Etnisk Potpourri ’’and helped us with menu design. He is very talented and was very lucky to have him in our team.

Final touch by Vasker & Shirish

Bård was our director. It was always so easy and comforting to talk to him. He made so many things easier for us and always tried to calm down our nerves. He explained the whole process to me and Lopita. As we already had visited two of our competitors prior to my house, so by now we were quite aware of the whole process. But still we were very nervous. It was our turn to cook and serve rather than to eat and judge ;).

With Bård (Director) and Christina

Our neighbors were very curious, as crew was taking the shoots of guest walking in and out of my house. There are always many takes and retakes until director is satisfied with the shoot. But there are no retakes while we are cooking. Once the clock begins there is no break or retakes. Even when we spilled the mint chutney on the floor then too clock was ticking and camera was rolling. For few seconds we couldn’t figure out if we should clean the kitchen or continue cooking. But then we decided to carry on with cooking. As mint chutney was the hero of the dish so, we had to make it again. In 10 minutes we made our next batch and was perfect :)

Ready for action

We had 3 hours of preparation time and we had to serve each course within 30 minutes. As the clock stopped after 3 hours, guests and judges were at our door step. We welcomed them and then the time begins for serving first course.

For first course we served Laks Paturi. This dish is from eastern region of India, where Lopita comes from. We kept the heat (chilly) level very low, so that they could taste fish, coconut and mustard. But the feedback from judges was disappointing, they wanted to taste more green chilly. We were not disheartened and were motivated to do our best in next dish.

First Course: Laks Paturi

For main course we served Tandoori Chicken Fajitas Sizzler.

Some backstage story: After the feedback from judges on our first course, we had to increase the heat in Fajitas. After adding red chilly in chicken, I had to grill it. The time I started grilling chicken on hot pan, suddenly fumes of red chilly gushed towards Bård (our director). He is always behind the camera. You do not see him and hear his voice. But he constantly asks us questions and talks to us. So, back to story Bård inhaled red chilly fumes and started coughing and sneezing furiously. It was so bad that he had to stay out of kitchen for almost 15 minutes. That was the time we knew that we have enough chilly in fajita J

Main Coure: Tandoori Chicken Fajita Sizzler

Main course feedback was great and we finished off with delicious dessert ‘’Mango Passion fruit Cheesecake with hint of Cardamom’’.

Dessert: Deconstructed Mango Passion Fruit Cheese Cake

Little Pipet filled with mango and passion fruit

We were very happy with our total score and appreciated judge’s constructive feedback. Our score was highest and we were on first position. By that time it was confirmed that we were through to semifinals. This result was an affirmation to what we believe in.

Very Proud Moment

Ready for interview after the dinner

What a day it was........tired after 16 hrs of shooting. But feeling super joyed after serving fabulous dinner. And this is what I eat as my dinner ........Pizza and biscuit :)