The Colour themed Pizza Birthday Party

An exactly 1 year late post. 27th April 2014. our big B turns 9 year old...and this was for his last Birthday Party. The request was for a Pizza Party with his close friends...so decided to keep the cake too in the same way.

 

Did a lllloooong pizza fruit cake for him. Baked the cake batter directly in the tray of the cooking range and wohoo...got a nearly 2 feet long (kinda sheet ) cake in just less about 10-15 minutes.

 

As such was terribly crashed after a hectic weekend, the previous day....so, could nt affort to do much detailed cooking. Went for a cake mix..the store brought one..mixed as per instructions and baked as said.

 

 

Some roughly spread whipped cream for the cheese effect. Cut fresh fruits and some tooty fruity..glad..i was done ..and soo quickly.

 

 

The colour code was green and yellow..and so, were the accessories...

 

 

 

Alright, that green tooty bit was custom inserted ;)

Yellow sweetcorn and green grapes

 

Literally wsa on the look out for anything of these colours...

Some stickers on the curtains

 

Bun decoration using yellow whipped cream and green tootties..

 

the entries

Some kiddy games with more pizza motifs

 

 

when expressions say it the best...

 loved the look on the kids faces. The candle lighting ceremony :)

 

Truly candle lit

Time to dig into the pizzaas..

 

 

They did have a blast .

 

 

 

and, that was him..waiting eagerly while the cake was getting baked.

Sago - Banana Kheer/Payasam



 

Ingredients 

 

1/4 cup Sabudana/Sago/Tapioca pearls

4 and1/2 cup water

1 cup Milk

1/4 cup sugar (or less)

1 tablespoon ghee

2 no cardamom pods

2 tbsp condensed milk(or according to the sugar level)

vanilla essence

 

Soak the sabudana for 20 minutes with 1 cup water, wash well and remove all the starchy particles. Then cook the sabudana for another 20 minutes with 1 ½ cup of water until it becomes transparent. Wash once again with water and drain it in a colander.

To this add milk, cooked sabudana , sugar , condensed milk and cook for another 10 minutes.

Cut a banana (shouldn't be very ripe..lest it gets mushy) into small chunks, slightly fry in ghee and add it to the sago - milk mix. Add crushed cardamom and a few drops of vanilla essence, mix. Swith of the stove when it becomes thick and reaches the right consistency.

Want to know more about Sago/Sabudana/Tapioca Pearls?

well..firstly,dont go by the name, They have nothing to do with tapioca.

Sago is a starch extracted from the pith of sago palm stems.  while Tapioca is a starch extracted from the root of plant species Manihot esculenta.

Whilst Sago is from the pith, or middle part, of the trunk of a Sago Palm (Metroxylon sagu), Tapioca comes from Cassava or Manioc (botanically Manihot esculenta), a popular tropical crop.

Sharing few shared imges of the sago palm. ..Images courtesy - www.ARKive.org

Sago Palm Plantation

 

 

as terrace plant

 

the leaves look great, after the rains..

 

 

Sago Palm leaves uncurling..

 

gorgeous !

 

 

Palm Inflorescence

 

 

Infertile sago palm seeds

 



 



alright !..back the Kheer, you dont want it to turn cold and thick.



coz, its best when served hot.

Recipe adapted from here . Zesty South Indian Kitchen by Swathi dearest .

 

 

  

 

Strawberry Custard Powder Biscuts (eggless)

These cute pinky cookies goes perfect for some lille girle parties..but me being the only girl (woman) among the 4 men in my household...well...got to admit, i got partial .... ending up having most of it by myself . Yeah..i know...the selfish me...but...pink is for girls, is it not, after all :P

 

 

Eggless Custard Powder Cookies (strawberry flavour)

 

 Ingredients:

 

2 cups maida/ All purpose flour

1/2 cup custard powder

3/4 tsp backing powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup oil

1/4 cup milk or less (as required)

1 tsp Strawberry essence (optional)

 

Method

Combine the flour, custard powder(i used Strawberry flavour) baking soda and baking powder.

Sieve them together for even mixing. 

 

Combine the sugar and oil and mix this till the sugar gets dissolved.

 

 Slowly add this to the dry ingredients(flour mixture) and combine well.

 

Add few tsps of milk to the mix till we get the right consistency, about to roll into a soft dough. Addition of milk brings out the pink colour of the custard powder. Can add a few drops of red food colour and essence too, if required..but, optional.

 

 Heard about these ?? ...Kohleria 'Strawberry Fields'. More about these "strawberry" look alike foliage in here. 

 

 



Make it into a smooth dough.Pinch small portion of your dough. Make it into a smooth ball and flatten it onto a baking tray lined with Parchment paper. Insert a cherry - cut into the centre of the cookie dough.

 

Place them slightly away from each other and bake it for 10-15 mins minutes at 170 degree C.

 

Take out from the oven and cool them in a wire rack.

Once completely cooled they will become firm and crispy.

 

Note:

Never over bake the cookies. Take out them when they are soft.

Recipe source - Jeyashri's Kitchen and it asks for 1cup butter. I reduced the quantity to 3/4 and added milk instead to get the right consistency

 

 

.....says the cookie..and

 

 

YES !!! we did !!!

 

Like a COOKIE MONSTER !!

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

All-purpose Eggless Bake-Dough .

Hey , friends ! Take my word. This is simple, quick and a healthier option  to a

   "FOOL-PROOF ALL PURPOSE DOUGH"...and, its EGGLESS too.  

You can use it for flat bread , bun , pizza , roll , bread loaf , fatayer....

 

very versatile !!

 

Back from school..and..straight into action :)

The method is slightly different from the regular means. You first make a "sponge" mix , which is basically proofed yeast plus a portion of the flour to which later, the remaining ingredients are added.

You need:

 

2 cups warm water.
2 Tablespoons instant yeast.
4 Tablespoons Sugar.
5 cups flour, unbleached, whole wheat, or a mixture of the two, (you can use 3 cups white+2 cups whole wheat).
1\4 cup oil.
2 teaspoons salt.

How to do:

 

 

1 ) For the "sponge," mix the yeast, sugar, and water.

     Mix in 2 cups flour. Cover the bowl and let rise for 10 minutes.

 

2) Place all ingredients +"sponge" in the bowl of mixer, beat 10 minutes to make soft dough.

3) The dough is now ready to use.

 

 

 

Do note that this recipe gives quite a large mass of the dough, as it keep raising. You can make 2-3 large sized pizzas, and quite a few mini's .

Assorted variations getting baked. Basically, you shape it the way you want..open, closed. topped or stuffed....

 

Stuffed dough sandwich , which here, in the middle-east they called "fatayer". Used Za'atar (oregano, mixed with olive oil) as the filling in here.

 

Some dough remains, shaped into a flower and sprinkled with sugar and cinamon powder.

 

 

Indulgance ! ;)