Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

I got back from work today and thought of making brownies. However I did not want just chocolate in it. I mean, just chocolate brownies do taste good but sometimes we want something more??  

Anyway I thought why don't I give the chocolate and peanut butter combination a try? They turned out good. If you like your brownies fudgy and gooey then you must give this one a try! 

Goodies you need:

3 eggs

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup white (or more if you like it sweeter)

1/2 cup butter (113 grams) at room temperature

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter 

1 tbs vanilla extract

1/4th tsp baking powder

3 tbs milk

3 tbs hot black coffee

1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)

 Pinch of salt

8 x 8 or 9 x 9 inch baking tin

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. 

2. Mix butter, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla extract, eggs and milk together in a n bowl until it is smooth and creamy.

3. Now sift in the flour and baking powder into the batter and gently fold it in until the flour has mixed in well.

4. Transfer 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons of this batter into a separate bowl.

5. Add the peanut butter into the batter of the second bowl, mix well and keep it aside.

6. Into the first bowl, add cocoa powder, chocolate chips and the hot coffee. Mix it and keep it aside.

7. Take your baking tin and line it with aluminium foil. This makes it easier to take out the brownies. Grease the foil with butter.

8. Now the fun part!! Take an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon and place a dollop of the chocolate batter and then add a dollop of the peanut butter batter next to it. Basically the idea is to make a pattern that resembles a chess board. 

It should look somewhat like the picture on the right. I messed my one because I am clumsy like that. But hey, you can get all fancy and creative.

9. Now take a knife and gently create swirls in the batter by making circles in clockwise and anti clockwise motion. Don't mix it too much or you may lose the pattern.

10. Once you are satisfied, let it bake in the oven until it's done. It should take around 40 to 50 minutes. Please do check up on the brownies exactly after 35 minutes. If you see that it is still too runny then don't panic. Just let it sit in the oven for some time more. You will know it's done if you poke the center with a knife or tooth pick and it comes out with some moist crumbs and not wet batter.

11. Once done, take it out of the oven and let it cool completely and then cut it into pieces.

Just keep a a few things in mind. The batter is not supposed to be too runny and the brownies will not rise too much. 

Hope you guys like it. Do try it out and let me know how it turned out. 

                                                                GOOD LUCK!!!! :D

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

I am posting this after a very long break. I have been so caught up with everything that I had absolutely no time or energy to post anything.
So anyway... after a push from a friend or two I finally got around to posting a dish. Nothing fancy but hopefully will make your tummy and taste buds happy.
I actually learnt this from my sister Nadia.. so all the credit goes to her. Hope you guys like it.

Ingredients

1. 300g - 350g spaghetti
2.1/2 kg minced beef/mutton
3. 300ml tomato paste
4. 1/4th of beef/vegetable stock cube (optional)
5. 4-5 tbs olive oil
6. 2 tbs garlic paste
7. 5 tbs onion paste
8. 2 tsp fresh ground pepper
9. 1 small size capsicum, chopped
10. 1 tsp dried basil
11. 1/2 tsp dried oregano
12. 1/4 tsp dried thyme
13. 2 1/2 cup water (around 500- 550 ml)
14. 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (or more if you like it extra cheesy)
15. 1 tsp sugar
16. salt, according to taste
17. fresh mint leaves, chopped

1. Boil water and add a tablespoon of salt and a tablespoon of oil in it and then add the spaghetti. Cook it according to the instructions given behind the spaghetti packet.The timings vary according to the brands.Just make sure you do not over cook the spaghetti to the point it is too soft or else they break easily or turn into mush. After it is done, reserve 1 cup of the starchy water and drain the rest. Keep the spaghetti aside.

2. In a deep non stick pan, heat the oil on a medium flame and fry the capsicum in it for 4 to 5 minutes.Then add onion paste and garlic paste. Cook it for 3 to 4 minutes and add the minced beef and fry it for sometime.  At this point you will notice that the beef starts to give out water. So cook it until you see that most of the water has evaporated.

3. Now add the tomato paste, the beef/ vegetable stock, dried oregano, dried basil, dried thyme, sugar, salt and water. (Don't add too much salt because after adding the cheese it will become more salty) Stir it, close the lid and cook it on a low flame for the next 10 to 15 minutes or until the water reduces and the sauce thickens.

4. Now add the grated cheddar cheese and let it melt into the sauce. In case you think that your sauce is less compared to your spaghetti then add some of that spaghetti water that you reserved and heat it until you get the desired consistency. If the sauce is too much then you can always heat it up a bit more until the water reduces more.

5. Check the level of salt.If you feel like there is less salt you can always go ahead and add a bit more. If the sauce is a little sour you may add a dash of sugar to it just to balance it out.

6. Add ground pepper and chopped mint leaves into the sauce. You may mix the spaghetti with the sauce or serve it separately.

Try it and let me know how it turned out!! ;)