Chocolate Walnut Brownie

The Chocolate Walnut Brownie is an all time favorite for me I can have this anytime of the day, but mostly this is a birthday delicacy as not everyone at home is fond of cake with frosting so this compensates for all the cake lovers at home.....

I don't limit this recipe to making brownies but if you have cupcake or muffin moulds not harm in experimenting.

At the end of the day those close to you should say that is some good stuff we ate......

What I like most of this recipe is you don't even have to use you hand mixer for too long maximum of 5 mins

Baking Time: 20-30 mins                 No of brownies: 16                           Baking Tin: 8 inch square Tin
Baking Temp: 160 Degrees 
Ingredients

• Dark chocolate cut into small pieces (250 gms) I use selbourne 
• Butter (113 gms) + extra for greasing (*if using unsalted butter add 1/4th tbsp to your flour mixture
• All Purpose Flour (95 gms)
• Vanilla extract (1 tsp)
• Eggs (2 nos preferably at room temperature)
• Baking Powder (1tsp)
• Baking Soda (1tsp)
• Walnuts (25 gms chopped coarsely) optional
• Chocolate Chips  (25 gms) optional
• Icing sugar (1tsp)
• Water
• Honey (1 tsp)

Method

• Preheat the oven at 160 Deg, grease and line the Cake Tin with parchment paper (butter paper)  if you don't have this just dust your pan with flour (be careful not to use too much flour our you may end up with a burnt brownie)
• First lets get the dry ingredients ready Sieve Flour + salt*+Baking powder+Baking soda do this three times to ensure that all ingredients mix well. Keep this aside
• In a double boiler melt the chocolate  (you can also use your microwave takes a minute) I prefer the double boiler.
• After the chocolate has melted add in the butter and mix this till the butter mixes well with the chocolate. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool.
• Now add eggs one at a time to this mixture and beat well with the hand mixture or wooden spoon till it mixes well.
•  Add the vanilla extract to this mixture.
• Add the dry ingredients in three past incorporating with the cut and fold method.
• Pour the mixture into the tin then place the walnuts and chocolate chips over the cake 
• Bake this at 160 Deg for 20-25 mins or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean or with little crumbs.
• After baking make a mixture of icing sugar + water + honey and brush it on the brownie when still hot just enough to keep the crust moist.
• Cut into 16 squares and serve with vanilla icecream.

You can also have a glazing of chocolate ganache go wild and enjoy an amazing Chocolate walnut brownie!!!!!

Amma and her recipes (Traditional kerala recipes)

My grandmother (Amma) is the most  awesome cook, she loves to cook and moreover she loved to experiment with food, she lived her early years in a small village in Kerala, but after marriage Mumbai was her home, she welcomed the food from this city so well so you name it Mumbai signature dishes she knew how to make them, Amma's hands have the magic of creating just super awesome recipes from whatever ingredients she can find in the kitchen, even leftovers.

I don't remember throwing a packet of bread Amma had the creativity to make the most amazing bread vaadas such was Amma. 

So now Amma can't remember most of her cooking as age has caught up with her, but my younger sister Dr Di, who loves to cook, much much more than me had taken notes of her cooking and compiled them, We draw our references from these notes and the saying practice makes you perfect goes well without saying, I have learnt a great deal from Amma, right from the basic cup of chai to an entire kerala sadya, all the credit goes to Amma.

My blog is a an expression of her cooking and her experiments with food. 

I want to start here with the most basic of Amma's recipes. 

Curd Rice!!!

Amma's curd rice are the most yummy delicacy and it was always called the lunch option as it was the most easiest to make and carry. 

I remember taking my lunch box at work and then starving as my colleagues would leave me none.

This curd rice recipe makes a very healthy and wholesome meal, It is good for acidity and also doesn't put you to sleep unlike other rice preparations. 

Whenever I want to loose weight my first diet change is curd rice, I start eating curd rice and my body weight is automatically regulated. 

There is a myth that rice makes you put on weight realty check, for Mallus I think it works otherwise. I tried to find out why, there is just one difference Mallus only eat boiled rice, so the rice is light for your stomach. 

So let me jump to the recipe.

Ingredients: 

Boiled Rice:                       1 cup

Curd:                                1 cup (avoid sour curd)

Ginger:                             1/2 inch shredded or cut in very small cubes

Mustard seeds:                  1 tsp

Dried  red Chilli:                 2 nos

Green Chilli                       1 finely chopped 

Curry leaves:                     5-6 nos

Cucumber:                        1/4 cup (optional)

Coriander:                        1 tsp (optional)

Salt:                                as per taste

Oil:                                  for seasoning

Method: 

1. In the curd add the ginger, Green chillies, cucumber, Coriander Leaves & Salt. 

2. In a skillet heat oil, add mustard seeds,dried red chillies, curry leaves let this crackle. 

3. Add this mixture to the curd and mix. Add the rice to this mixture check the salt. 

4. Garnish with curry leaves or coriander. 

Tips: In summer curd tends to get sour easily it is suggested to add 2-3 tsp of milk to the entire curd and rice mixture. It is best served cold, I love curd rice with Sambhar, try it. Amma never used cucumber. Cucumber was my little variation after eating curd rice at Madras Cafe, Matunga

Simply South : An Introduction

Since this is my first post, let me start with a little about myself, born a Malayalee, and brought up in Mumbai. Why I emphasize, Malayali. In yester years Mumbai and even now a South Indian from any of the four states is termed as "Madrasi". So there are Tamilian from Tamil Nadu, Andhraite from Andhra Pradesh, Kannadiga from Karnataka & Malayali/ Keralite from Kerala

They are all connected as they are the four southern states but are very different they speak different languages and moreover their food habits are far different. So let me stick to Keralite food here as that is what I want to give myself the privilege of saying subject matter expert. 

I somewhere lost trail, So a Malayali from Mumbai and married to a Maharastrian, and here I can safely talk about two cuisines the Kerala cuisine and Maharastrian cuisine, but I don't want to restrict my writing to these two cuisines, Since I love to write about food whenever I experiement with food I want to put it up here. 

So let this trail of My Kitchen Diary start....

Happy Reading and Happy Cooking!!!!