Owner: Ambrosia URL:http://purplefoods.blogspot.com Join Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 07:01:55 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: This blog reflects my passion for food. I love cooking, baking, eating out and experimenting with different cuisines. Site statistics:Click here
Sage Garlic Butter Gnocchi 2008-08-14 13:24:00 Gnocchi (NYOH-kee) are Italian potato dumplings. They are often dubbed as “smart pasta” because unlike pasta, they rise to the surface when ready. Gnocchi are widely available frozen at supermarkets and are a convenient choice for a quick meal or a side dish. When something is easily available you just doesn’t feel like going through all the trouble of making it from scratch. But when you’ Read more:Butter
, Garlic
Chocolate Cherry Cake 2008-08-10 05:24:00 Last week, I made the most moist and delicious cake. And the reason I’m so happy about it is because it was an experiment and it turned out to be so lovely.I’m very wary of proportions when it comes to baking, because there have been times when things just didn’t go as planned. But the aroma that the house was enveloped in while the cake was baking told me that this would be wonderful. And w Read more:Cherry
, Chocolate
Homemade Vanilla Sugar and Vanilla Extract 2008-07-25 07:26:00 Ever since I learnt how wonderfully fragrant real vanilla is, I’ve wanted to get my hand on the real McCoy. Although vanilla grows in South India, it’s mostly exported, having hardly any value in Indian cuisine. So all this while I used the bottled essence (while this isn't as bad as it sounds). One fine day when I finally found vanilla beans at a gourmet store I was ecstatic! I started t Read more:Sugar
, Vanilla
Roast Chicken and Balsamic Vegetables 2008-07-18 23:56:00 I have never made a whole stuffed chicken before and I was daunted by the task at hand. Folks at home usually prefer to buy boneless chicken or pre-cut pieces. And there is never any skin; so I’ve never seen a whole chicken being made. To begin with I read through Jamie Oliver’s The Naked Chef where I found a wonderful roast chicken recipe and step by step instructions as to how I must handle Read more:Balsamic
, Chicken
, Roast
, Vegetables
Guava Sorbet 2008-07-15 12:08:00 I have been wanting to make sorbet for a while but get dissuaded each time I see that recipes call for an ice cream maker. I know ice cream can be made with a little effort without a machine but if it's out there in the market, I don't see why I shouldn't have it. But I’m only worried that I’ll use it probably 3 times a year and then it’ll end up at the back of my cabinet. I wanted to ma Read more:Sorbet
Flavoured Salts 2008-07-10 01:10:00 "A flavoured salt is one of the simplest and most basic ways of finishing a dish – it’s so easy and tasty, yet hardly anyone does it” - Jamie OliverMy fascination with flavoured salts began after reading about it in Jamie's Kitchen. And boy was I in awe of salt when I learned about the different varieties. Now I look at salt with much more reverence. Many of these expensive flavoured sa
Danish Braid – I’m no longer afraid! 2008-06-28 13:31:00 Such a corny title. But so apt.Pastry has always intimidated me. I always thought that only pro-bakers or high end machinery could give some good pastry dough. Luckily for me; this myth was shattered after I made a Danish
Braid for this month’s Daring Baker challenge.This month’s challenge I hosted by Ben of What’s Cookin’? and Kelly of Sass and Veracity. I love the challenge they picked b Read more:afraid
Chocolate Cake 2008-06-26 08:42:00 This cake is soft and moist and dark and intensely chocolatey when topped with chocolate ganache. It smelled so good when it was baking that I could hardly wait to turn the cake over; only to end up with a broken cake! I frosted a part of the cake completely; while I simply poured over the ganache on the rest of the salvaged pieces. I was looking for an excuse to use my newly bought sugar Read more:Chocolate
Pain au chocolat et à la banane 2008-06-18 12:36:00 Someone at work lent me a French cookbook yesterday. It looked quite interesting and I immediately felt like sampling some of those recipes. To begin with, I picked a chocolat
e banana bread. Everything was in French and it was kinda fun trying to figure what it meant, and if it was way beyond my understanding I'd resort to using the mighty Google translator. This is my version of the bana
Sticky Cinnamon Buns 2008-06-08 23:46:00 I’ve made these before and they’re always a hit. For a while I’ve been thinking "I'm going to make them this week" but never did. Finally, I began making them yesterday. These buns are high sugar, high carb, high fat, low protein so forget about it if you’re counting calories.While they’re baking, a wonderful cinnamony smell will waft out of your kitchen and you’ll know you’ve go Read more:Cinnamon
Sindhi Curry and Aaloo tuk 2008-06-08 11:19:00 One of my favourite things to have for a meal is Sindhi curry with plain boiled rice accompanied by crispy aaloo tuk. The Sindhi Curry
is by far the nicest curry I’ve had. Sour, spicy and tangy – some of the flavours I’m especially biased towards. This is also good because I end up eating a variety of vegetables; something I wouldn’t have done as happily otherwise. Aaloo tuk, is nothing bu
Trip to Bangalore 2008-05-25 13:56:00 Last week I was in Bangalore
for work. My last visit was over a decade ago as a kid, so I didn’t really have any distinct memories of the place, let alone the food. Luckily for me, we were put up up in the heart of the city where I’d have enough places to explore during my stay there. So everyday as soon as I got done with work I would set out exploring the bustling streets of the city.
Za'atar 2008-05-09 13:20:00 Za’atar is an aromatic spice mixture used in the Middle East. Like many spice mixtures, there are many variations, but all contain toasted white sesame seeds, ground sumac, thyme and salt. Za'atar has a unique pungent and zesty flavor. A friend of mine got me Za’atar from Dubai (I love it when I get authentic stuff! :D). I have wanted it ever since I learned about Israeli cuisine some months
Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake 2008-03-30 10:52:00 Yet another month and some more last minute mayhem to finish the challenge and make a post in time. And in time it is! :) This month’s challenge was Dorie’s PerfectParty
cake. It was really simple to make, and the best part of it – we had the freedom to put our own personal stamp on it!It’s the time of the year when the mango will make way into the markets, and what better time for me to
Blogging by Mail 2008-03-27 22:39:00 Let me begin by telling you’ll what Blogging
by Mail is. It is an event hosted by Stephanie at Dispensing Happiness where everyone send in their names, addresses, blog and food stuff they particularly like or dislike. After collecting all these, she will match people up – and my is she good at that! Everyone who has participated can swear by this skill of hers. And in the end everyone receive
Putting Dried Fruits to Use 2008-03-22 11:54:00 A few days ago, I got loads of dried fruits as a gift and I wanted to put them to use in the best possible way. I found some fantastic ideas and recipes for them. All of hem could act as wonderful additions to anything from salads and breads to fruit pies, muffins, cookies or pancakes. This Super Berry Shortbread looks promising too. Dried cranberriesI made Oatmeal Cranberry White Choco Read more:Fruits
, Putting
German Apple Cake 2008-03-09 11:31:00 After having a slice of the GermanApple
Cake a while ago, I simply had to make some of my own. A layer of chopped apples and handful of raisins between moist layers of cake was something I have been contemplating for a while, and today I finally got around to making it.The recipe I used is my version of the German Apple Cake from King Arthur Flour. Here it is: Apple filling3 large apples pe
Cool Kitchen Tools 2008-03-07 11:43:00 A kitchen is good place to find futuristic gadgets. Here are some of the really cool and innovative kitchen gadgets and accessories I found. Some are simple ideas that were waiting to be executed while some are valuable for the utility or design. These aren’t really needed but you’ll definitely want a few! Knife BlockThis has got to be the most interesting knife block you’ve ever Read more:Kitchen
, Tools
1st Award! :D 2008-03-04 12:03:00 Thanks to Divya Vikram over at Dil Se..., I received my first blogging award! Thank you so much for this. It is truly encouraging. :)There are loads of bloggers whom I respect and admire, but I'm not going to be putting forth any names simply because they have accomplished too much to receive an award from a relatively new blogger like me.Thanks for the award, Divya. Really Appreciate It! Read more:Award
Passionate Baking: French Bread 2008-02-29 12:45:00 Why passionate, you ask? Well that is because I was very excited about this month's challenge (more so, because I had to miss the last one). I signed up for an Online Baking
Session that was being hosted by Bread
Chick of The Sour Dough. The only problem being that it was to be held at 10am EST, which means I would have to bake into the night being in the IST zone. I started my challenge on Sunday Read more:French
5 Things About MeMe 2008-02-28 11:38:00 I have read memes on different blogs since the time I started blogging, and today Allison at Cinnamon Love tagged me. I had quite a few points jotted down for the meme. I've picked out 5 random things for the list. But before that here are the rules:1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.2. Share 5 facts about yourself.3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to t
Oreo Memories 2008-02-19 11:33:00 The first time I had the Oreo cream pie I was completely bowled over - I could not stop eating! With every bite, I kept saying to myself, "this is going to be the last bite." The smooth and creamy filling against the wonderful pie crust was something I had never had before. This pie is so easy to make and a tad messy with all the crushed Oreo; but what the heck, it's always fun to lick the
What's that flavour? 2008-02-16 10:26:00 The then NY Times food critic, Ruth Reichl (Garlic and Sapphires) was on one of her visits to the New York restaurant, Lespinasse. One of the dishes she sampled was a Braised salmon and crisped Artichoke with a syrah wine reduction. It looked familiar - a fat slice of salmon on a bed of crispy fried strips of artichoke in a deep purple sauce, garnished with bread crumbs and chervil. However, the
I heart cupcakes 2008-02-12 12:01:00 Its Valentine’s week and Zorra from Kochtopf is hosting an event “A Heart for Your Valentine”. I love the idea of such theme events where each person brings in their creativity. Since the time I heard of the event I was eager to participate, and finally made my entry to the event today - Lindt Chocolate Cupcakes.Lindt Chocolate Cupcakes(makes 6) 4 eggs120g sugar200g butte Read more:cupcakes
Nutty Biscotti 2008-02-07 10:48:00 After a friend suggested this recipe to me I knew I just had to make some Cranberry Pistachio Biscottis and more so after the excellent ratings the recipe earned itself at Allrecipes. I made these today morning, and I was quite happy with the results. My health conscious mom couldn’t be happier when she learnt that these were made with olive oil! And did you know, biscotti means twice cooked? Read more:Nutty
Bombay Duck: A Duck from Bombay? 2008-09-02 12:22:00 Ever heard of Bombay
Duck? It isn’t a duck, but a fish; and it isn’t found in Bombay, but pretty much all along the Indian coastline. Then why is it called Bombay Duck? I’ve come across two fairly reasonable arguments for it:1. When the dried fish was transported by the Bombay Mail it became notorious for its smell. Dak being the Hindi word for mail, Bombay Dak (Duck) became the name of the
Daring Bakers: Chocolate Éclairs by Pierre Hermé 2008-08-31 07:39:00 All the Daring
Bakers are back this month with Pierre
Hermé Chocolate
Éclairs. When I got to know of the challenge, I wasn’t too excited. Chocolate Éclairs aren’t something I’m particularly fond of. And when I sat down to think why, I remembered a time when I was a child and I was having a chocolate éclair - there was something about it that wasn’t quite right. And after that I’ve
Lime and Mint Kebabs 2008-08-22 22:28:00 This is a very easy recipe. I bought some chicken and wanted to make something with whatever I had at home instead of following a recipe because more often than not, there is always one ingredient that I need to hop to the grocer's for and that's such a waste of time. I came up with this by simply adding whatever I could find on the spice shelf and in the refrigerator. The spicy mint chutney is w Read more:Kebabs
Potato Dill Bread 2008-08-19 01:06:00 It has been aptly stated by James Beard that “Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.” Every once in a while when I don’t have the time to cook or bake, I go through my collection of food books. I especially enjoy looking at the photographs in 100 Great Bread
s. In the book there is on Read more:Potato
A year of blogging and Nutella cupcakes! 2008-09-23 10:12:00 Today I complete one year of being a part of the blogosphere (yay me!). I started off hoping to use Ambrosia as a place where I could collect my recipes and keep track of my cooking and baking experiments. Little did I know that a year down the line, the blog would mean a lot more than that. In many ways.Blogging has changed how I cook.I don’t cook the same things that often because otherwise I Read more:cupcakes
, Nutella
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