SAVOURY PIZZA MUFFINS 

Not everyone has a sweet-tooth, some just prefer savoury snacks. If you choose to follow this recipe, you will see the addition of sausages, peppers and cheese turns the muffins into mini pizzas! These can satiate your 'pizza-cravings' in a simpler way. 

Ingredients 

2 eggs, 1 cup flour    

1 tsp baking powder   

¾ cup vegetable oil   

2 tbsp capsicum, diced   

2 tbsp red bell pepper, diced

2 tbsp onions, diced   

1 tsp dried oregano flakes   

2 chicken sausages, boiled and diced   

1 pinch salt   

1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese    

Method

Preheat oven to 150°C. Fill a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake papers. Whisk two eggs with oil and salt. Add flour and baking powder and fold it in with a wooden spoon. Add the remaining ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon. Fill the cupcake papers up to half capacity with batter. Bake for 15 minutes. Insert a toothpick to check if the muffins are baked completely. Toothpicks inserted in a done muffin should come out clean. Serve them hot with tomato ketchup.

PINEAPPLE PUDDING

The ingredients and method of this pudding is the same as everyday flan, but the addition of caramelised pineapple gives it a completely unique taste. You will be struck by the tartness of pineapple, and the regular sweetness and 'melt in the mouth' softness of pudding. The best part of this recipe is that you do not always need an oven for preparing it. You can prepare pudding on a stove by double-boiling too. 

Ingredients

½ cup pineapple, quartered slices

3 tbsp sugar (for caramelising pineapple), 

3 tbsp sugar (for preparing puddings caramel)

6 eggs, 1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup warm milk

Method

Cut pineapple into thin slices. Heat the slices with three tablespoons of sugar in a pot. Stir occasionally. Turn off heat when sugar melts and pineapple slices turn golden brown. In a pudding tin, heat 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of water. Let the sugar caramelise. Allow the tin to cool down. Lay the pineapple slices on the caramel but do not create any overlap. Whisk together eggs, sugar, milk and vanilla extract in a separate bowl. Preheat oven to 200°C. Pour the pudding custard into the tin and cover it with aluminium foil. 

Take a deep baking dish. Pour hot water into it. Put the pudding tin into this dish and set it for baking. Check pudding after twenty minutes with a toothpick. When the baking is done, let the pudding cool down completely. Loosen the pudding's sides with a sharp knife, tap lightly on the tin sides, put a plate on it and turn it upside down in a swift motion. Serve the pudding cold, as a dessert.

Post Script: Never prepare pudding custard using a blender. Pudding loses its softness that way. Always whisk it by hand (I prefer to use a pair of chopsticks, they are perfect for whisking)!

CUPPA TIRAMISU

Tiramisu is a coffee-flavoured Italian dessert famous all over the world because of its exceptional taste. The authentic recipe uses mascarpone cheese blended with raw eggs and layers of lady finger biscuits dipped in rum and coffee. As this form of cheese and even biscuits are still not widely available in the country, I prefer to prepare my tiramisu with cream cheese and sponge cake. I avoid using raw eggs since some people do not like the smell of it. Since I make my tiramisu in individual cups, I have named them Cuppa Tiramisu.  

Ingredients 

250g cream cheese bar

250ml whipping cream, 1 cup icing sugar 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

2 tsp instant coffee, 50g butter

1 tbsp cocoa powder 

10 slices of vanilla sponge cake

Method

Mix instant coffee with 1 cup of hot water and set aside. With the help of a blender, whisk together whipping cream with icing sugar. Do it at high speed till the cream is stiff. Add vanilla extract and whisk more. Add softened cream cheese and beat further, first on medium speed, then at high. Add two tablespoons of the coffee prepared earlier, and whisk again. Add softened butter and whisk the tiramisu cream till you get a smooth one. 

Start layering in cups/glasses. First make a layer of the cream. Use a spoon to do it which would help you spread it evenly. Then pieces of sponge cake, two teaspoons of coffee spread evenly on the cake, cream again, cake once more, coffee and then cream. Refrigerate for half an hour. Dust some cocoa powder on its surface and serve cold.

FLUFFY WINTER OMELETTE 

Egg omelettes – the most favoured breakfast which everyone loves to wake up to! And if you somehow make it fluffy and cheesy, you will definitely not prioritise anything else on your breakfast table. So let's find out how to make our omelettes fluffy.

Ingredients 

2 onions, peeled and diced 

½ cup diced carrot, cauliflower and capsicum (you can use cooked and diced potatoes too)

1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves 

1 piece of green chilli, chopped 

½ of a tomato, diced 

1 tsp ground black peppers

2 pinches of salt, 2 eggs, 2 tbsp oil, ½ cup milk,1 slice of cheddar cheese 

Method 

Whisk together eggs, diced tomato, coriander leaves and chopped chilli. Add a pinch of salt, black pepper powder and milk. Whisk thoroughly. Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped onions and diced veggies. Add salt and pepper. Cook till veggies are tender. Transfer the stir fried veggies to a bowl of whisked eggs. Heat the pan again and add whisked egg mixture. Cover and cook on a low flame for five minutes or till the omelette just comes off from the base. Flip sides and immediately place a slice of cheese in the centre of the omelette. Fold the omelette in half. Cook each side of the folded omelette for two minutes. Serve the omelette with toast.

Photo courtesy: Tanha Zahur