Chocolate Mela Round up!

I am sure there are not many who does not profess an undying love for chocolates and I can easily count myself among the crowd. However it all changed with the kids in picture and it's seriously been ages since I enjoyed a chocolate bar myself. And the many chocolate recipes that come under scrutiny gets done for the kids.

In the name of Chocolate Mela, there has been never ending chocolate dishes coming out of my kitchen. For a moment I almost doubted if it was for the kids or for myself. Of course it was naturally for the Mela. Who cares when end of the day they get chocolate to enjoy!

It was truly a display of chocolate love with this wonderful chocolate mela. Check out the beautiful display of entries.

Announcing Kabab Mela!

After a delicious treat with chocolates for the Chocolate Mela, I could only think of Kababs for some reason. When I checked out the wiki, it said it's any food that's grilled, fried, or deep fried and served as small portions or on grill. Well that just suits the mood and I thought I should invite all for a Kabab Mela.

With the summer almost setting in, let's create the scene for a barbecue and enjoy the kababs.

Please check Wiki for more details on what Kabab can be. For your information, even regular tikkis, cutlets are all classified as this. The dish can be barbecued, grilled on stove, in oven, or deep fried as per the explanation goes.

So from now till March 31st, post any dish that fits the theme on your blog.

• Link back to this announcement is mandatory
• Entry can be any dish that is skewer served, grilled, barbecued, deep fried. 
• Usage of the logo is appreciated as it helps spread the word.
• Both Veg and Non Veg entries are accepted.
• Multiple entries are accepted.

Link your entries in the Linky tool.

Any questions, please send them to cooking4allseasons@gmail.com.

Chocolate Chip Cookies | Eggless Cookies with Chocolate Chip | Step by Step Recipes

For today it was a simple Eggless chocolate chip Cookies. I knew Chinnu will not touch it as it is not brown in colour. As expected he was eating only the chocolate shortbread. But other two loved this and wanted more. I liked the way the dough didn't spread so much but had that rustic cookie look overall.

My boys were eagerly waiting to taste and wanted to know what I was doing with a glass of milk. Well I simply said these cookies taste great with milk. Now it's another thing that I should get them eat this along with it.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients Needed

All purpose flour / Maida - 1/2 cup
Rice flour - 1 & 1/2 tbsp
Butter - 1/2 cup
Powdered sugar - 3 tbsp
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Chocolate chips - 1/2 cup – (50 gms)




How to make the cookies

Sieve both flours together in a bowl.

Cream butter, sugar and essence till light and fluffy.

Add flours and mix well to form a soft dough. The dough will be sticky.

Add the chocolate chips to the dough.

Scoop down small balls on the greased tray.
Pre heat the oven at 185 degree.  Grease a baking tray, place the balls and bake at 185 deg C for 10 - 12 mins

Cool and  store airtight.

If chocolate chips are not available, 1/2 cup  dark chocolate can be chopped and used.

Enjoy weekends!

Sending these delicious to the following events
Priya, who is hosting Kid's Delight, themed on Eggless Bakes,
To Anusha who is hosting Bake Fest
To Anjali's: Cakes, Cookies and Desserts

Also to my Chocolate Mela.

Eggless Chocolate Shortbread | Chocolate Shortbread Recipe | Step by Step Recipe

For today I thought I will make the Eggless Chocolate Shortbread that I had bookmarked long back. It was interesting to read about what Shortbread is. I am on really short time on this recipe, will share the recipe and be off!

I made this early hours and you can imagine how hungry that left me! I wanted to do the glaze but decided to leave it just like that. Though I planned for a post for the last day of chocolate Mela, looks like I will not be able to do it. So enjoy these four delicious treats anyways.

Eggless Chocolate shortbread

Maida - 1 cup
Castor sugar - 1/2 cup
Cocoa powder - 1/4 cup
Butter - 1/2 cup
Salt – a pinch
Vanilla essence - few drops

How to make the Eggless Chocolate shortbread

Preheat oven to 185 deg C.

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a bowl

Add butter and vanilla, and mix everything together till it forms a ball
On a rolling board, lightly dust the floor, pat down the dough, using a rolling pin, roll it down to a 1 inch sheet, cut into squares.
Bake cookies until firm to the touch, for about 10 - 12 minutes, till a nice aroma comes..
Let cookies cool completely on wire racks.

The following is optional.
Melt chocolate in a microwave bowl.
Drizzle chocolate over tops of cookies.
Let set before serving, about 30 minutes.

Sending these delicious to the following events
Priya, who is hosting Kid's Delight, themed on Eggless Bakes,
To Anusha who is hosting Bake Fest
To Anjali's: Cakes, Cookies and Desserts


Also to my Chocolate Mela.

Brownie Muffins | Eggless Brownie Muffin in Microwave and Convection | Step by Step Recipe

For the second day I tried these sinfully delicious brownies baked in muffin molds. You can easily tag them as devilish dark chocolate brownies as they tend to get you hooked. Imagine I tasted the batter and was going wow and aahhs, so much so that I called Athamma to taste the batter. Even though I have cooking chocolates, both dark and semi bitter chocolates from Scharffen Berger Chocolates, I picked up a dark chocolate bar from Nilgris. I almost kept it back, remembering my other packs. I am happy I didn't, it was so delicious.

As I said I was to make this late night and ended up making it the next morning. Boy did I love the creamy texture I got after whipping the condensed milk into the melted chocolate and butter. It was yummy on it's own. If not for the fact that it had uncooked flour, I can easily imagine eating it just like that.

Since I have make something in the microwave mode too for Veena, I decided to bake some in the microwave mode. I baked in microwave for just about 2 mins and then 30 secs. I made the mistake of using the silicon tray, a bigger bowl would have surely suited well. Will have to make it in next. However whatever that was came out really so delicious.

I baked the rest in convection mode and well those were really fudgy and brownie types. Maybe since I still not own a measurement cups I may have gone overboard on the butter part, it was very buttery but who really cares about it, especially when the brownie was so chocolaty and delicious.

Brownie Muffins in Microwave

Dark chocolate, chopped - 200 gms
All purpose flour / Maida - 3/4 cup
Butter - 2/3 cup
Condensed milk - 1/2 cup
Water - 2 tbsp
Nuts and Vanilla Essence (opt)

How to make Brownie Muffins

Melt the chocolate and butter with 2 tablespoons of water and micro for 2 mins. You can follow this method for convection baking also.
Bring to room temperature, add the condensed milk and mix well.
Add the flour, nuts and vanilla essence if you are using, and mix well.
Grease and dust your microwave muffin tray and spoon a tablespoons of the mixture into the molds.
Microwave for 2 mins, again for 30 secs.

Since the mixture was more of liquid consistency, the batter overflew after the first 2 mins. So I put it back and again micro for 30 secs.

Though these are not great to look at, taste wise nothing to beat it!


Step by Step Pictures

Brownie Muffins in Convection Mode

Melt the chocolate and butter with 2 tablespoons of water and micro for 2 mins. You can follow this method for convection baking also.
Bring to room temperature, add the condensed milk and mix well.
Add the flour, nuts and vanilla essence if you are using, and mix well.
Grease and dust your muffin tray with butter and icing sugar. Spoon a tablespoons of the mixture into the molds.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 185°C (360°F) and bake for 10-12 minutes or until a knife inserted into the brownie comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack and unmould each muffin.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Notes:

You can add Chopped walnuts or roasted almonds for extra kick. Since my kids never touch anything with nuts, I never bother adding them.

You can add few drops of Vanilla essence for added flavour.

Check out yesterday's 3 Minute Microwave Chocolate Cake

Sending these delicious Microwave Chocolate Cake to Veena who is hosting MEC this month and to Priya, who is hosting Kid's Delight, themed on Eggless Bakes,

Also to my Chocolate Mela.
 

3 Minute Microwave Chocolate Cake | Eggless Microwave Chocolate Cake | Step By Step Recipe

When I realized that there are just four more days for the Chocolate Mela to end, I couldn't let it pass by without me posting more chocolate recipes. I actually selected many chocolate recipes that I thought I should make. Few were even with eggs, which I thought will post here. But as always days simply fly!

Added to this, my boys started asking for something with chocolate. When they get into that mood, there is no stopping unless you give them enough dose to sustain for another couple of weeks. The recipes I selected were simple ones, some were shared by Chitra Vish of Indus ladies. I remember bookmarking them many months ago. I adapted some of them as my boys won't eat any nuts or certain type of cakes. However I love the fact that you can bake eggless versions so quickly.

I am planning on posting until 20th of this month when the Chocolate Mela ends. So gear up to get knocked down and drooling over the chocolate dishes!

I was supposed to bake this last night but I was rather busy with the BM starting today. So I ended up baking it this morning. It was pretty hectic morning and hubby dear was wondering why I was so busy since morning. I told that I am in a mission to bake chocolate dishes. First on the series is a delicious microwave chocolate cake and trust me with so many versions or proportion, even then one can't be happy with just one.

This is yet another version and it tasted great. The fact that it took only 4 mins, is the plus point!

Ingredients Needed

All purpose flour / Maida - 1/2 cup
Sour curds / Yogurt - 2 tbsp
Cooking soda - 1/4 tsp
Melted butter - 1/4 cup
Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup + 2 tsp
Cocoa powder - 1 tbsp
Water - 1/4 cup

How to make the MW chocolate cake

Microwave the butter for a minute.

In one bowl, sieve the flour along with cooking soda.Then add cocoa powder.

Micro water for a min.

Take the melted butter in a bowl, add sugar. Then add curds to the same bowl and whisk well.

Next add flour, and mix to a smooth batter. Depending on the batter consistency add the hot water. It should be little flowing consistency.

Pour into a greased Microwavable bowls

Micro for 4 mts in 2 mins interval.(It actually took me only 3 mins)

Allow to stand for 1-2 mins

Use only Microwave safe vessels.

The original recipe called for only 1/3 cup of sugar, I increased to 3/4 as I was serving as such.

If you reduce the sugar the cake will end up being not so sweet. In which case you can drizzle some chocolate syrup over it or do a glaze.

However with such instant cakes it makes no point in spending time on making elaborate glaze or frosting.

Sending these delicious Microwave Chocolate Cake to Veena who is hosting MEC this month and to Priya, who is hosting Kid's Delight, themed on Eggless Bakes,

Also to my Chocolate Mela.

Tomorrow's chocolate treat is a stunner really! So come back for the next treat.