Serious Seera!!

Yesterday in the Devnaa kitchen we were trialing a recipe for Seera. Seera is a semolina pudding often served at temples to the patrons after they they have prayed. It can be served hot or cold, most people have a particular preference - in our house we always had it hot with lots of raisins which my sister hated so I'd get to eat all of hers!! Whether hot or cold Seera is one of those comfort foods which takes you right back to your childhood and will always bring a smile to your face :)

As it is such a traditional dessert we at Devnaa thought we'd try to update it a little but without changing it too much and whilst we are still playing with the recipe, here's something we made yesterday - Seera, but prettier!!!! :)

Congratulations Chandni & Rakesh!!!

My favourite Devnaa project from last week was the cake created for my best friend's wedding engagement. Green and gold to match her saree, egg free and different flavours in each tier!



I hope she and her fiance enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed creating it! Congratulations Chandni & Rakesh!!!

Recipe of the Week - Quick Chocolate Honeycomb Ice cream

As the beautiful weather continues here in London the Devnaa team is making the most of it by creating lots of quick and easy summer desserts... Here's on of my personal favourites - chocolate honeycomb ice cream.

Ingredients
600ml Double Cream
200g Icing Sugar
50g Milk Chocolate
2 Crunchie Bars
1 tblsp Orange Blossom Water

Method

• Very gently melt the milk chocolate in the microwave
• Crush up the Crunchie bars
• Whip the cream until it reaches o soft peak consistency
• Sift the icing sugar over the cream and add the milk chocolate, crushed Crunchie and orange blossom water
• Fold all of the ingredients together
• Transfer to a freezer container and leave for a few hours or overnight - if you leave it overnight take it out of the freezer about 20 minutes before serving so that it can soften a little
• Serve with extra Crunchie on top and enjoy :)

Indian/Western Recipes

Ok, this week as we continue to experiment with a new dark chocolate recipe we are still always trying to come up with new 'fusion' recipes to add to our collection and share with you. About a week ago we made the fruit tartlets with Indian style creme patissiere and this week we're thinking of Danish pastry with some kind of Indian spiciness added to them.... What we'd like to know is if you have any funky fusion combos you'd like us to try? Experimenting with new recipes is our favourite thing to do in the Devnaa kitchen so if there's anything you'd like to see us try - let us know! We'll be more than happy to give it a try and hopefully we'll be up to the challenge! :) x

Dark Chocolate With....???

This week the search is on in the Devnaa kitchen to create a deliciously different dark chocolate bar to add to our collection.... How to keep it 'Indiany' whilst not using a flavour combo we've used before and making it taste so good that everybody wants a piece is proving to be quite a challenge!

Almonds are looking to be a favourite but what to use with them? I like rose, Jay likes mint, Mum and Dad like honey... This is going to take a lot of fine tuning to please everybody!! Let us know your ideas!

Right... Back to the kitchen with me... I have a lot of dark chocolate to eat - I mean make!!! =)

A Vending Machine Which Dispenses Gold!?!?!???

Everyone loves a trusty vending machine - they might not be filled with the gourmet delights you'd choose to treat yourself to when given the option but in times of desperate need, when all other food outlets are closed or far off in the distance you can always rely on there being a vending machine just around the corner - ready and willing to provide you with a good old bar of chocolate, bag of crisps or can of fizzy drink at double the price of what you would normally pay!

In the same way, everybody loves those little chocolate gold coins we used to get as children. Fabulous stocking fillers no Christmas went by without one or two of those being tossed our way in the Devnaa family home and we used to get such pleasure out of the thought that we were holding real gold coins and even more from the fact that we could unwrap them and eat them!!

The latest in vending machine technology takes both of these things and puts them together to create what is possibly one of the most unnecessary inventions I have ever come across!!! A vending machine which dispenses gold bars and coins as opposed to chocolate ones!!! Recently installed in the Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi this machine allows people to walk in and purchase bars and coins of gold which weigh up to 10g each! A high tech computer system provides real time updates on the price of gold so that it matches that of the international markets and soon enough if you happen to be staying at the Emirates Palace you will be able to purchase a personalised coin as a souvenir of your visit! Random, yet strangely fantastic and an insane way of bringing the good old chocolate vending machine into the future!!!

Recipe of the Week - Iced Masala Chai

It's a hot sunshiney day in London town today and so I'm going to surprise the Devnaa team with a jug of refreshing iced tea - Devnaa style of course! Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
7 Tea Bags
1.5 tblsp Chai Masala
1.5L Water
3 tblsp Caster Sugar

Method:

• Place all of the ingredients into a pan over a high heat and allow to come to the boil
• Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 6 minutes
• Turn off the heat and strain the tea into a serving jug
• Allow to cool slightly and then refrigerate to chill
• Serve thoroughly chilled in iced glasses alongside a box of yummy chocolates! :)

World Cup - Cakes: Part 2

Ok so the World Cup is growing ever closer and it has now been brought to my attention that the first match, to be played on June 11th is going to be South Africa VS Mexico. This brings me back to a suggestion we had from one of our Facebook fans a little while ago that Devnaa should create a cupcake to represent the flag of each team... And then me deciding to make life difficult and take things that step further by creating cupcake flavours for each team too... Well... South Africa and Mexico!!??? I don't know where to start!!! The flags are straight forward enough but I think its about time i started a little investigation into South African and Mexican desserts as right now all I can think of is 'Churos'!! The little doughnuts you get in Mexican restaurants!

Actually, no! What am I saying?? Mexico is where chocolate comes from!!! Ok... So how about an intensely dark chocolate spiced cupcake to represent them? That just leaves South Africa for now... I should really have a better idea seeing as my parents grew up in East Africa! My Dad once told me a story about how he and his brother trekked all the way from Uganda, right down the East coast of Africa through countries like Zambia and Mozambique all the way down to South Africa. That must have been almost 50 years ago now! Can you imagine - 2 Asian boys (they would have been about 17 at the time) hitch hiking, camping and trekking through Africa in the early 60's, right in the middle of apartheid, without a penny to their names! Dad still says it was one of the best experiences he's ever had though - that you didn't need anything, everyone was so friendly and happy to help - it must have been amazing!!! Right, time for me to go and quiz him on South African cuisine!!

Finally!! The perfect Gulab Jamun Recipe!!!

Exciting news!!! After many trials and lots of errors resulting in gulab jamuns that just weren't soft enough, or too dry or they would fall flat... etc etc the Devnaa kitchen has finally come up with what is possibly the perfect recipe for gulab jamuns! Perfectly round, they puffed up beautifully, had a soft and spongy texture and just soaked in the right amount of syrup to be sweet and flavourful without giving us toothache!!!

You'll have to wait until later in the year for us to publish the recipe but rest assured - it is most definitely on the way!!! We can't wait for you to try and it and tell us what you think! :)

A new take on ice cream cakes!

News just in... This summer, well loved cake brand Mr Kipling is giving us something new to try with a range of cakes based on traditional ice cream flavours! With treats such as tutti fruitti slices, neapolitan bakewells and raspberry ripple slices to look forward to the Devnaa team can't wait for these to get onto the shelves of our local supermarket!

Possibly not the most exclusive or 'gourmet' cakes on offer so many of us have grown up on this household brand and their cakes are still just as good as they've ever been! It will be great to see and taste the new line of products! That said my favourite always has been and always will be their yummy Angel Slices!!!! So heavenly!!!

Pistachio Rose Cupcakes

Last week ended on a good note as we created another yummy recipe which we all agreed will be great to share with all of you when we get around to putting up our video tutorials - pistachio rose cupcakes :)

Rose is not a traditional Indian flavour but it filtered in to the Northern parts of India with the Mughals who brought it with them from the Middle East. Known for its cooling properties, rose water is especially common in places like Morocco where iced rose water is drunk as a revitalising tonic in the blazing heat. In India it is more often combined with milk to create delicious 'lassis' and desserts fragrant with the essence of rose - perfect refreshment during the hot Indian summers!

You'll have to wait a little while for the recipe, but here's a glimpse of the first trial of the Devnaa Pistachio Rose Cupcakes... :)

Lemon Chai???

Over the last few days we've been busy experimenting away in the Devnaa kitchen - improving, trialing and best of all creating lots of new recipes to feature in our video tutorials and share with all of you. Most of the time we all agree but yesterday we came up with a recipe that had us all torn - chai cupcakes with lemon butter icing. The concept - lemon tea - definitely works. The cupcakes with the chai masala blend definitely work, the lemon icing works... But put it all together and we're just not sure! Some of us like it, the others aren't so sure... What do you think - lemon masala chai anyone?

Cake Pops!

For a little while now I've been hearing about cake balls - cake crumbled up, mixed with a little icing, rolled into balls and then dipped in more icing - you can't go wrong! However now more and more I'm hearing about these perfectly decorated little spheres being made into lollipops!

Fun, easy to make and eat these are the perfect treats for a children's party - you can even make up different coloured icing and get them to decorate their own! For ideas, inspiration and to maybe even try a few check out www.popbakery.co.uk - a fantastic creation by a talented baker/decorator, Clare O'Connell has created a whole world of beautifully iced cake pops that almost look too good to eat!!

Devnaa Family Reunion!!!

Phew! What a weekend!! For the first time in around 35 years mine and Jay's Dad was reunited with all four of his brothers and three sisters, all in the same country, under the same roof, at the same time!!! That's some family affair! Although they've all seen each other now and again they haven't all been together like that in so long it was only right we threw them a little reunion - and of course it wouldn't be a family reunion without plenty of food and in our family - desserts!!!

From traditional desserts like Ormoo - a rich, creamy dessert made with sweetened roasted Bulgar wheat and milk; Shrikhand - somewhere between a thick set set yoghurt and a loose cheesecake mix flavoured with nuts, saffron and cardamom; to more modern, western desserts like cranberry, almond and white chocolate rice crispy cakes and the infamous chocolate orange cheesecake back by popular demand from last week! The show stopper however was something that sort of fell together almost by accident - Raspberry, coconut and white chocolate mousse...

I had meant to make a white chocolate and raspberry mousse cake but becoming pressed for time I had to think of a quicker alternative I could make with the ingredients I had to hand. The raspberry jam which had been meant for the cake was combined with some Vege-gel to make a quick raspberry jelly which alongside some of the fresh raspberries I had bought for the cake was filled into the bottom of little canape glasses. Topped with a quick and easy white chocolate and coconut mousse and more fresh raspberries, these little desserts were made so fast that I didn't even get a chance to try any before serving them but just my luck - they disappeared even more quickly than it took me to make them - with some cheeky relatives having at least 2 or 3 each!