Cashew Brittle

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 12 ounces roasted salted peanuts, cashews, pistachios and/or pecans

• Toast nuts and keep aside to cool (I toast these in the oven at 350 F, for 10 minutes).
• In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, water, butter and corn syrup and bring to a boil. 
• Cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until the caramel is light brown and registers 300° on a candy thermometer. 
• Remove from the heat and carefully stir in the baking soda. The mixture will bubble. 
• Stir in the nuts, then immediately scrape the brittle onto a large rimmed, nonstick baking sheet. Using the back of a large spoon (oil it lightly if it sticks), spread the brittle into a thin, even layer. 
• Sprinkle with salt. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Break the brittle into large shards.

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Pound Cake with Nutella Swirls

1 cup butter, softened
  1/2 cup shortening
  1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  2-1/2 cups sugar
  5 eggs
  3 cups cake flour *
  1 teaspoon baking powder
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  1 cup buttermilk
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

* Substitute for cake flour : For every cup of cake flour, take one cup of all purpose flour, remove two table spoons of flour, and add two table spoons of corn starch.

Optional : 
 1 13 oz jar of Nutella
OR
  1 13 oz container of any fruit preserves
OR 
  Any fruit/ chocolate spread you like

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening, cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. Combine the dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.
• Warm nutella (if using nutella) for 30 seconds in microwave.
• Pour one third mixture in a bundt cake pan, apply a ribbon of nutella/ fruit preserves in the layer, pour another layer of cake mixture, apply the rest of nutella/ fruit preserves and scrape off all the cake mixture into the bundt pan.
• Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Optional : serve with fresh strawberries or ice cream.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Truffle center

2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 ounces butter, melted, not hot
7 ounces (1 packed cup) brown sugar
3 1/2 ounces (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 egg yolk, room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
8 ounces (1 1/3 cup) chocolate chips

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (162 C). Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside for now.
• In the large bowl of a stand mixer, combine the melted butter and both sugars, and mix them on medium speed with a paddle attachment until the sugars are moist. Add the egg and mix until it is well-incorporated, then add the yolk and mix well again. Add the vanilla extract. 
• With the mixer running on low, add the dry ingredients and mix just until they are almost fully incorporated and there are just a few streaks of flour remaining. Add the chocolate chips and stir them by hand, scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula until everything is well-mixed. 
• For the best results, chill the dough for 45 minutes, until it is firmer but still able to be rolled into balls. If it’s too hard straight from the refrigerator, let it warm up on the counter for a few minutes once you’re ready to use it.
• To form the cookies, use a cookie scoop or a large tablespoon to form a 1.5-inch ball of dough. Press your thumb in the center to create an indent and spread the cookie out a little bit. Set a chilled truffle in the center of the cookie, then place a little more dough—about the size of a quarter—on top of the truffle. Pinch the bottom and top of the cookie dough together, then roll it between your palms to make it round. Place the cookie on an ungreased parchment-lined sheet, and repeat until the sheet is filled, leaving 2-3 inches between the cookies.
• Bake the cookies at 325 F for 17 minutes, rotating halfway throughout. They’re done when the cookies have spread, have a touch of color along the outer edge, and the raw sheen is off in the center. They should still be soft in the middle.

Capsicum corn masala

Ingredients:

Bell Peppers (2), cut into 1/4" cubes
Corn - 1 cup (I used frozen)
Tomatoes - 4 medium - cut into small pieces
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp

Preparation :
1. In a pan, heat oil (can optionally add tadka w/ Jeera), and add Bell Peppers once the oil is hot.
2. Saute bell peppers until they start loosing their bright green color (It is an indication that they're getting cooked).
3. Add corn and tomatoes and let the whole mixture sit in the flame for 20 minutes/ till oil starts separating.
4. Add salt and garam masala and let it stay on the stovetop for another 5 minutes.
5. Garnish with corriander leaves and serve with Roti!

Capsicum Rice

Ingredients :
Cooked rice - 3 cups (Each grain should be separate)
Bell Pepper/ Capsicum cut into 1/4" pieces (2)
Garlic (Optional) - 3 pods
Dry-Roasted unsalted peanuts - 1/3 cup
Bay Leaves
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Masala Powder :
Cloves - 4 florets
Cardamom - 4
Cinnamon - 1 1/2" piece
Corriander (Dhania) seeds - 4 tbsp
Jeera - 3 tbsp

Preparation :
1. Dry-roast the masala ingredients and grind to a coarse powder . (Note : this can also be made in bulk and stored for a while).
2. Mince garlic and keep aside.
3. In a pan, heat oil and add minced garlic and the bay leaves. (Flame should remain at medium)
4. Once the garlic oil mix starts emitting an aroma, add bell peppers and saute for about 5 minutes.
5. Now add the masala powder, mix thoroughly and saute for a further 5 minutes/ until the bell peppers get 70% cooked. Overcooking the bell peppers will cause the rice mix to become a paste, so try avoiding that.
6. Now add salt, and then rice and mix (while making sure that the rice grains don't get clumped together), and saute for a further 5 minutes.
7. Enjoy capsicum rice with Boondi Raita!

Tofu Peanut Satay

Again - this was something in which I used store brought ingredients. I'll mostly update this once I try this again, with the peanut sauce made from scratch.

Ingredients :

Thai Peanut satay sauce - 3/4 cup
Firm Tofu - 1 pack
Oil - 1 tbsp
Water - 1/4 cup

Preparation :
1. Heat a pan and add oil. Turn the heat to high.
2. Cut tofu into 1 inch cubes and saute them for about 5 minutes. Sauteeing them on a really hot pan ensures that the tofu does not get too dry.
3. Lower the heat to medium and add Peanut satay sauce and water and blend until the peanut sauce absorbs all the water.
4. Turn off the heat once it starts oozing out oil. This makes a very good side dish for Mushroom Fried Rice !

Mushroom Fried Rice

This was something quick and dirty I attempted. As opposed to most of the other recipes - this just uses store bought ingredients and is something that can be rustled up in less than 20 minutes!

Ingredients :
Button Mushrooms - 1 12 Oz packs.
Soy Sauce - 2 tbsp
Rice vinegar - 1 tbsp
Chili Sauce (I used ching's secret chili sauce) - 1 tbsp (or more, depending on palatte)
Cooked rice - 3 cups
Oil - 2 tbsp

Preparation :
1. Wash mushrooms thoroughly and cut mushrooms.
2. Heat a pan and add oil.
3. Once the oil is hot enough, add cut mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes on medium-high heat.
4. Once the mushrooms get sauteed, they start emitting that "mushroomey" aroma and start losing a lot of water.
5. At this point, add the soy sauce, rice vinegar and chili sauce.
6. The mushrooms will ooze out more water, so keep stirring on medium-high flame till the liquid is 80% gone.
7. At this point, add rice and saute for 5 minutes.
8. Enjoy mushroom fried rice!